Brahm Prakвsh a Translation and Analysis

1

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8RAHM PRAKASH ,

A

TRANSLA~ION

AND.ANALYSIS

by "

Hasina M. Jamani

A Thesis Submitted to the Facult.y of Graduate Studies

-

and Research, McGill University, Montreal, "

,

in' partipl fulfillment of the 'requirement for the degree of Master of

Arts~

Institute of. Islamic Studies

•

@

McGîll university Montreal

""

"

September 1985

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Author:

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HaSlna M Jaman1•

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Brahm PrakAsh, A Translation and

'Î'-itle of'Tllesis:

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1

f

Ànalysis. 1

(

Depé&mènt: "-

'"

T

Institute of Islamic Studies,

of

McGill University.

,:

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,Degree:

M.A.

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This thesis

seeka ·to examine

r~ligiO~s~poem --from the IsmA( tu cOMml,lnity

Brahm 'PrakAsh,

a 9inân-

literary heritage of

the Nizâri

of the Inàian Sub-conttnent.

The Brahm

~

,PrakÀsh is a didactic poem, composed seeks to

.

,

.

guide an Ismâ'îlî

,.

,

.c

in-a mystical vein. It

murid from

stage to

,

of

st~ge

progress

s~ritual

toward the

attainment of

the

daréen of the Lord within one's own self-hood. ,

'

.

The study reveals that the Brahm PrakAsh, , . in ~escribing the mystical path appears te find its basis in an indisenou5 ."

J. _ y

Indian . religious thesis,

,

8 '

0

0

phenomen9n~/,/'-

therefore, .

~

examiilK "

how

the

.

o

•

reconstruc~ts"

'"

r'

and (

Brahm

Tantric

restructures. the

8upèr-imposing upon the •

th" TantricJ'iadition. :This Prakâsh by'

eiement "

Tantric frame-work a Shi
form of

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Ha ..i na M Ja~n i

, :Auteut r !J:

Le Brahm 'pcakash , une tra4uction ;,

Ti tre de Thèse:

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et une analyse. , L' inst i tut des ét udes i Sla~iqUeS'

Département:

,

,1

l'·universi'té de McGill. Degréc

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.

.

Maltrise

Cette thèse vis~ à examiner le Brahm prakâsh, un 91n&npoème

réligieux qu'a

communaut'

produit l'héritage

NizArt IsmA(Il!

littéraire de

du ,sous-continent indien.

'Brahm Prakash est un poème didactique-

la Le

dans une veine

compos~

,mystique. Il essaie' de conduire' un murtd IamA( 111 d'une

étage

à une

autre

dans

un progrès

spirituel

qui

parvient finalement au daréan du Seigneur au dedans de loi-m'me.

j

.

;'

L'étude, montre ,que le ~rahm sentier myst'ique, réligieux examine,

se fonde

indigènedonc,

Praklsh, en

décrivant le

mani festement sur

un phenomèn~

la tradition

comment

le Brahm

tantrique. Prakish

"\

Cette

thèse

reconstruit

et

reforme l'·élémen.t tantrique par l'imposition d,'un Ialam d'un 'tearactère ShI (t sur ta charpente tantrique. " "

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Primarily,

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~ppreciation

without ~Gill

th~s

to th.

thesis

debt

of gratitude

.

Institute of

whose 'generous University,

oves a

Ismaili Studies,

con:tribution towaràs

l would, not

my

have been able

and

London, study

at

to undertake

the masters programme.

It is to my thesis supervisor, Dr. C.J. Adams, to whom l ow,e my sincere

thanks for his

which

in reyiewing

he took

study and }

for making

and painstaking care

pat~ence

the successive

this work

drafts of

presentable. If

this

this study

deserves. any appreciation the credi,t is due to him.

r

0;

~

The support and

encouragement which l received

parents has been tremendous. 1 am 'sister,

()

Almas / whose

enabled me ta

constant

pa~ticulatly

sUPPo,rt

see thi s s,t udy t,hrough

from my

indebted to my

and motivation

the end.. And i t

has' li s to

her that 1 dedicate this thesis.

Finally, Ra~tansi #

-.t-

\

must

and Derryl Maclean in

time and valuable thesis.:

acknowledge

1 am

my

collegues,

Diamond

particular who rendered their

assistance towards the complet ion

also grateful to Miss Salma

of this

Lakhani for'

typing most part of this thesis.

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Tran.liter.tion

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The transliteration seheme folloved in this thesis , for Arabie and the

•

Persian terms is that

Institute of

Sanskri t'and

vhieh has been

Islamie Studies.

those belonging

vords de~ived

from

Hindu tradition,

they

For

to the

devised by

have been transliterated a's they appear in Benjamin Walker's, ~.

Hinàu World

.

super-script for.

are indieated

The sub-seript

and the

t

respectively.

by • and

~

1

to preserve ",the attractiveness of the thesis the reeurring foreign vords sueh as da(.va, ginAn lli etc., have In order

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been under-lined on1y upon their first appearanee.

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Page ,

. Inglish Abstract ............................................. ii R6s'UIIlé ........... '•••••

0 ••••••••••••••••••••••

"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iii

Acknowleàgementà •••••••• ~ ........................................... iv ~Transl i

terat ion •••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••• " ••• v

Introduct ion ••••

......... , .................. ........... . • •• 1 ."

Notes to! Introduction •••••••••••••••••

~

.................... •• 13

Chapter 1: Brief Background of the "NizArI

I~mA(

IIi,

da (va in the -Indian Sub-cont inent ................ 15 back~round

a> Historical )

b> Nature and Structure of

t~e

ginAn Literature

Notes to Chapter I: ............. . Chapter ,1 t: Brahm PrakS'sh a> A Translation of the text •••••

................. •• 37

.................

•• 41

Chapter III:" Brahm Prakâsh, An Analysis a> Background to the Tantrie Tradition •••••••••••••• 55

,

Notes to Chapter III, Section •••••• : •••••••••••• 67 b> 4.rantric Element in the ginâns,

specifieally in the Brahm Prakâsh •••••••••••••••• 70 -"1

Notes to Chapter III, Section •••••••." •• " ••• " •••• 95 •

11

j~ ~

CO~cludin9 Remarks.: •••••••••••·•••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 98 Notes ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ~ ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 106. Bibl iography ••••••••••••••••• " •••••••••••• oj" ............... 107 ... "

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--Introduction

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'---.its

.

Sht' t, Ism!' tlism claims a long history.

I~

1200 years

movement

. sub-divided

,

developmen~s

of

history,

into of

sèries

d\!veloping

\ ..

,

,

~

in

:.

,,'

'"

'horrifi~d

,

W.lvan~w

sequence the

maintains,

or

the

after of

These

are

to others

Carmatian band

the Islamic vorld during .

became

developments.

parallel

directIy

.

div~ed

and

some

a ,certain "

Bahrain

vhich

fourth century - the

\

Fa~imid

.;:...

separate

running

~hus,

time-period. 1

of

Ismâ
into l'phases', some

the Ismâ< tIt

the co1l1rse of

its highly civilized capital

Caliphate of Cairo vith

·1

~_

~nd

i ts

advartced

j

intellectual 1 i fe

the

encyclopaedist (1

brotherhood of""lkhvân !!-Saf" . . which, in' the fifth attemgted " to, popularize masses -

the dreaded

~entury

learning and." philosophy among

Assassins of Syria "and pers'ia

thé

in the

fifth and the sixth centuries are all different facets of the same

movement. 2

-Ismâ(tlism vas and

may

expressed in

put

be

in

B.

infinite forms

Lewis'

words,

both dootrinal

or9anisation~1."2

Of these its

This

9r~owth

different 'phises' and

development in

e~pecially in its Nizârt form, has

of the the

IsmA(ilt movement,

d

1 ndian . Sub-cont inent,

by far received the leas't "

,j,

•

f

,

),

Q

•

.

", :2

attenti'on :" evolution

This phase presents history

in the

ad~ustment to Hinduism.

of

yet another characterisitic Ismâ
This is evidenced by'the presence of

a widely scattered Ismâ< ilî community

f;

its

part~cularly

... more popular,ly known

Indian in the y' the Khôjâ . communi ty not only -..J Sub-contine~t, but spread during rece~t years to th~, Afr}c.an

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and' thé North "~merican 'tont::inents.

t·

,l

Tnese Khôjâs

qonsi!de,r

Q

,!r

,,

t

i 1 , i

Ismâ<î~!

themselves to "have been a

product of the

movement

which spread in ·the Indian

Sub-continent during the medieval

"era. ()

.

~

Sa.tpanth, "the Path to the Tru.th" , i'5 the name of a sect

1 i

by

'f l

. !,

)

which

Nizârî

Sub-continent

by

alleged to have

1

medieval era.

Î

1 sptâ <î l i sm various

Nizâri dâcîs

" consider themselves to

'0

day Nizârî

into and

arrived there for da
5

was ,spread

the

pirs

Indian who

\

are

purposes during the Ismâ<îlîs 'or

have been converted from

Khôjâs

Hinduism to

Islam by tQe da(wa activities of these Nizârî dâ(îs and pîrs.

As a sub-sect ." that \

after the

of Shî<î Islam the

dea th of

the prt.ophet

Nizârî

Ism~<îlîs

hold

Mu:tlammad, the

di vine

themsel~es

in (Ali

power, guidancecand leadership, manifested

-

as the first Imâm and that religious authority is 'trans~erred by inheritedjright to his successors.' Over a period of time, "

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.

the Shi
the main line of , k

/

allegiance. The 1 smâ (tilîs

-

descent to W\èlom they get their name \from

.. ,

gave their (,

fact t'hat

th~

0;,

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'{)

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..r.d.âJt

3

as

a

resu] t of

aIIegiance

spI it

a

to Imâm

Imâm l smâ ( î l'

in

the

8th century,

they

Ismâ( U, while

the majority

considered

brother Mnsâ

5

Kâ~im

as the successor

gave

to Imâm

Ja(féfr al-~âdiq. They came to be known as Ithnâ-
Similarly, in the lO-llth centuries, at the death of the al-Mustan~ir,

FâPmid Caliph followers

The

as

in Egypt,

(

stronghold

Nizârîs, while

Musta(lî, who

al-Mustàn~ir'

of

establ i shed thei r

another

the

s

at Alamnt and came

followers

of his

be known as

Isiàm

origins to

established

followers of Aghâ of his claims of

Although

at

this Nizârî

. direct linêal

this Khôjâ

Nizârî

Is~â(ilî

also known as Khôjâs,

Ism§< îH branch

Khân IV, whom they

brother,

Fâ~imid Caliph

Presently,

Alamût.

Nizâr,

to be known

younger

Bohrâs. The

commun i ty of the l ndian Sub-cont inen t,

occurred.

son,

eldest

succeeded al-Mustan~ir, as the

came to

trace its

major split

they

of Shi< î are

the

cons~er Imâm, because

descent from (Ali.

community

prbduct of the da
considers

itself as

a

the Nizârî dâ
during the medieval era, the coming of these Njqzârî dâ (îs and pirs was

not the

first time that

the Ismâ(îlî

element had

entered upon the l ndian soi 1. The l ndian Sub-continen t, as i s 1

well-known,

has been

an

area of

concern

for the

nascent

]

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4

IsmA
da
IsmA
in the

pre-FAtimid

times.'

Indian Sub-continent

The emergence

of

can, therefore,

be

seen into two phases: a>

Fâ~imid

b>

Nizâd and post-Nizârt phase.'

It

is

l smA
pre-Fâ~imid

and

al1eged element

that had

period i.e. till 1094.

the

earliest

wi th

India

contact

came

which

the

to

the

pr ior

establ i shment of the FAt im~d Cal ipha te, f rom the time of dawr al-!!!.!., when one wing

of the da
in'Hind and

Sind. MUQammad bin Ismâ< il, the seventh lmâm of the Ismâ< His is himself taken

supposed to have fled

refuge

authenticity regarding

in

Sind.'

of

such

the

S.M.

with his sons and Stern

informa t ion

ear1y

Ismâ
however,

doubts

provided ... by

activities

in

to have the

Juwayni

the

Indian

Sub-con t inen t • 10

The

Ismâ
on the

mention of the establishment of the'" 9th century, by a

other

hand, first

Ismâ< îH activity in Sind in

certain dA< î named al-Haytham. 11

penetration eventually led to the principality in Sind, when it

make

Thi s

establishment of a Fâtimid

is maintained that the Fâtimid -

Caliph,

al-Aziz, sent

al-Shaybân 'with

a military

escort,

which took Multan in 977 . continued to the

si tuation

,The khutbah of the

be read there in

Sind

Fâtimid Caliphs

for severa! decades. 12

until raids

of

MaQmud f:'()f

This vas Ghazna

5

temporil'r*i 1y

brought

Ghaznavids. When Fâ~imids

the

under

the

the Ghaznavids'

who

authori ty over

Sind

for a

ru le rapidly

while had

Sind and ruled the

century until

domination

of

degenerated,

succumbed, again

seized

province for more

than a

the final conquest of

Sind by the

GhOrids in

1175 compe1led the Ismâ<îlî movement to go underground.

The

subsequent history

the

of the

Ismâ< îlts is

13

genera11y

associated wi th the resurgence of the Sumra dynasty, which i alleged to have had Carmation f ind,

(

J.

maintains

references

activities

in the

quest ionable

inclinations. One continues to

Hollister,

occasi6nal

to

through

these

two

MalâQidah

Sub-continent .14

But,

centuries, or

Carmation

spart from

regarding l smâ < t 1 î

information

5

this

activities

in

Sind, nothing can be attested about them unti1 the appearance of

Nizâr îs on

the

the

believed to have begun, di( 15

and pirs,

Indian

scene.

movement

is

as mentioned above, by various Nizârî

who are

Sub-continent at

Thi 5 l smâ (Hi

supposed

to have

least from

arrived to

the thirteenth

the

century

onwards.

Al though, considered

a

the

Nizârî

continuation

movement, of the

previously existing in the Indian few factors

(

1 ~

,'

which make

distinct 'phase

in

the

in

same

Ism!< tH

can

be

movement

Sub-continent', there are a

the Nizâri movement history

fact,

of

stand out

Ismâ< Hism.

as a

EarBer

Ism!<îlî as weIl as non-Ism!
6 domi~tion

Isma
in

invasiQ~ in ~175. This that the

Sind

at

least

until

information together

Nizârt ptrs began

completely

from

facilitated

the penetration

S

GhQrid

with the

their da
suggests that the Ismâ1tli element Sind. 1

the

fact

in Sind,

had not been_obiliterated

Their

p~esence

of the

Nizâri

could

have

da
the

northern parts of the area, and that, in turn perhaps, led to the

rise and

there is no

development of

Satpanth Ism§< îlism.

However,

specifie evidence to establish if

there was any

eonnection between the two Ism§
Moreover, the

Khejls

vith whom

ve are

themselves to have the

"

arrivalof

concerned in

this study

been converted from Hinduism

the

Nizârt dâcis

and

pirs

consider

to Islam by

to the

Indian

Sub-continent during the medieval era.

Our study concentrates on this movement

whose da
activities

second phase of Ismâ1îli resulted

in the

rise

of

Satpanth Ismâ<îlism in the Indian Sub-eontinent. However, our aim is

not to coyer the

entire movement as it

developed in

,/

the Indian Sub-continent.

But, seeks to examine an aspect of

the thought of Satpanth Ismâ<îlism as converts . by

the

Nizlri

dl< is

and

it was conveyed to the ptrs

in

the

Indian

Sub-cont inent.

II

) An attempt to study any

religious aspect of Satpanth or,

~1 7

Nizârt I smâ ( Hi sm must necessarily begin by an examination of 1 l

'

the community'5 ginân

major religious literature, the

.

li terature COl1st i tutes

indigenous literature ginân

i5

a

literature composed

appe~ation

constituting Indian

several

pirs who

activities

in the

entire corpus

given

of

Tlie term

to a

devotional

vernacular

literature i5 attributed to the d'
the

preserved by the community.

collective

in

almost

ginAns. The

body

of

compositions

languages.

This

gin!n,

authorship pf various Ni.z!rt

are believed

to have

Indian Sub-continent,

earried on on

da(wa

behalf of

the

ImAms of the Nizârt IsmA(tlt sect of Persia.

(

The nature of Satpanth or

1 ; Î

J

Nizârt Ismi(tlism can be best

reflected by examining the gin'n literature, sinee the ginâns

1i i

j j

1

;

are

seen as

a

product of

Satpanth

religion. However,

to

1

1

examine the literature in i ts entirety falls beyond the scope 1

of this

,

study. Our study seeks

Brahm Prakâsh

to study a gin'"



from the

called the

ginân corpus.

It has been made the focus of our study for two reaaons:

l a> ~he ginân Brahm prakâs~ ia attributed to the authorship of . Shams al-Otn, initial

a Niz!rt ptr who

phase t;>f

the Nizâri

is

a~leged

to

IsmA(Ilt da(wa

Sub-continent. Thé Brahm Pr~kâsh

tepresent the in the

Indian

would, therefore, represent

the earliest 'efforts of the p.tr to project Satpanth or Nizâd

(

l.mI(tlism to nev conyerts f:om and situation.

H~npuism

in a nev environment

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)

8

.,

l'

b> the Brahm Prakasn deala vi th a mystical concept of sumi ran' IsmA
which

exhibits

Although this

the entire

ginan

the

c~ncept

Brahm

i8

PrùAsh

understanding a

an

i5

dealt

Satpanth

some manner vith in

an

the Brahm Prakâsh. Hence,

important

composi t ion

for

of IsmA c 1lism,

fundamental spiritual aspect

'as i t was conveyed

of

is echoed in

literature, it

elaborate and consistent manner in the

essence

by the Nizâd pt r to the

nev converts in

the Sub-continent. Yet, another reason that

for our dealing vith

of sumiran

the concept among the\ presen t

day Nizari Ismâ
religious

to

system

adheres as a

an

a significant

Ismâ
upon him

formulated

for

a set the

of'birth or

of religious duties and

.

practise

of

the

Nizart

religious obligations are suppos,d

to

jam8
be 9bserved

.

in their

for

the

purpose.

Among

of these

made inc'umbent

duties, although

institutionalised - as a part be held in the

A~.

various /

,etc., are Some


performance of the.dGCI

)

system. The

IsmiCII! faith. AlI these established

(

place

murtd

member of the community, by virtue

otherwise, imposes obligations

which

occupiea

thisi ginân ia .

; payi ng ,the dashond v

upon not

~ties,

an Isml t 1lt

obli

murtd.

tory, have

been

of the rel gious ceremonies to

jamlcat khana - by vha

is

termed vithin the,.' /

community religiou8 organisation, a

oall or majlis. 16

1

9

~

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Among the v;rious

maoOlts into which an

ini:tiates himself,. principally on

IsmA< tH murtd

)

his ovn accord, initiation

1

into a special maodlt, known as the bayt !!-khyAl assumes the hiqhest is set

up for dhikr

murtd in

practises which spi~itually

progressinq

Illumination

his mokSa <\liberation>

For

practise

IsmA(i11 murîd is

of

given a

~

personal

to

him.

practise, i.e. meditate bâtini



Illumination. composition

self

from human life

on earth.

as

bandagi,

an

(~



of the Time>, which ·henceforth

The

initiate

towards the

to study

known

is

on his bol, in order

Hence, the

attainment of forms the

i!m

or

aid a

of darian

dhikr, also

by the Imam i-zamân
.(

towards the

~

this

are believed to

• The attainment

baeis for

remains

significance. This manOU

the basis

of

to

to deve10p his

attainment

Brahm Prakâsh

supposed

of

spiritual

forms an

important

a fundamental

practise

among the Indian Isml
The composed

ginAn

Brahm

PrakAsh

conai,sts

of

in a

mixture

of old

Gujarat'i

and

composed in a mystical vein,

150

couplets,'

Hindi. It

is

discuasing the various mystiéal

,

, states and ,,

stages towards

6abda "-

','

of the

mystica1

experience and contains instructions on how to attain it. The gin4n begins br

(-

the realhation

, off

breaks

~.elè's8ness "

-----_.-._-

an emphasis on the divine the

.!!!!

-


to

give

a

fairly

of

vadous

ascétic

of t'he

propert ies of .!!!

,Ofîs.

detailed

account

practises

which

""'~~

It

then

of

the

ar~

not

'"

.~

~-_

':1ft':" 'r

..

_-~-

-

..

,

. 'Î .

,

) , eentred on attainins . t:he brahm

continues to nalle ~,

brahm s'ukh, The

ti"

blisr- !t thén

their'

absorption in the

attai';ed

sa~ Asbda.

u

sec~ion

last


••veral ad.,'pts who in

by their absolute

~--:----

!!!.!h

10

of

the' work

deals

with

the

ecstatic

eXPerience vith the divine Lord in the unfathomable depths of one' S ovn self-hood, 1

-"

th~

that results from

contempla.tion of

the sat éabda.

1 1

1 1

l

Chapter One of our study· seeks

1

to offer a background to

f,

the introduction

j

of Satpanth or

~

Indian Sub-cont.inent and an introduction

!

!i

.

NizArt - 1 sm4< tlism

into the

-

into the nature and

structure of the ginln 1 i terature. This chapter will form the

1

basis for

understanding the

type and

nature of

Is~
vhich evolved in the Indian Sub-continent • • Chapter Two text of

orthe

the Brahm

study offers

Prakâsh into

a translation

English.

Chapter

of the Three is

,

divideCl- into describing

two sections. the verious

'\,

The

ginân Brahm,

PrakAsh, while

mystical states' and

stages of

the

Dlystidal path structures a ~eculiar esoteric voc;~bulary which is found

to belong

largely to

a

v.~ll-formulated

system of

,

thought, namely

the Tantric tradition, an

religious phenomenon. background' into yocabulary

()

Therefore, section <8> offers

that aspect of

appears

(

indigenous

similar

the

a brief

tradition whose

the Tantric

to

I~dian

Brahm

ginAn

PrakAsh.

Section examines how the gin'n Brahm Pr.kAsh restructures the' Tantric

el..ment in i ta

.,~~~-

fra ••vork, so

~"'--*"---,---

.........-

as to make

~--~~-_._~~._--

"

~

it an

/ /

1

l·

..

1 1

1 11

•

integral

aspect

of

IsmACtl! thought,

still

retained

... and

•

esteemed among its Adherents.

-'!'he 'l'eKt

The copy of to us hy

the 'ginAn

the Ismailia Association of

texts vere obtained ( 1

.". iF

a photocopy

1~2l.1.

for j

of the'

India. l

Initially two

'

the India Association. The first one text

pUblished by

Lâljt DevrAj

in

The second was published by the Ismailia Assoei4tion

India in

book form

vith a

few other

major ginAns

of

several dâCts and\.ptrs. This book is published vith the title "Pavitra Ginlnano

(

fro~

was made available

Brahm,PrakA~h

Sangrah", or Compilations of

Holy GinAns,

lst edition, 1966 • . We have used the Lâljt Devrlj it is reason

the earlier for

our

eopy for our study, since

versîOn available choice is

content between the

the

to us. l

Yet, another

'

significant

variations

two versions. For instance,

in

~he

of copy

published by the Association, the terms referring to the Imam in the ginAn to all

have been rendered as (Alt,

the Imams in general,

reteins alfferent the

~nuscript·

which of the

.(

vhereas the L!ljt

word-terms.

copy, we are not

,tvo

AS ve

Devrlj copy

do not have

in a position

is closest to the

in several' private publications Devr&j copy. Thua,

the name referring

ori~inBl,

show the

us~

indicatins that the version

Bceess to

te determine but referewces of

the LAljt

publiahed .by

_----------

_....

l

12

)

hi.

v s extensivley 1

taken'

over

1

by

used btfore ,the Association

the

ninetfen-seventies.

The .

LAljt . DevrAj copy

\

Gujarati script, as has been the ginln

li~erature~

Gujarati

which

script from

the

publication task

has

in

the is

early

written

?

:

-) 'r

~

in

case with almost the entire

been

,

original

transliterated into Kh&jki script

for

convenience of IsmA C t11 réaders who do not read Kh&jkt.

l'

was

the the

-{

13

Not.. to Introduction lW. Ivanov, IsmAili Literature, A Bibliographical Survey, , 5. ,

2B. Levis, Origins of and Sons Ltd., 1940>, 1.--

IsmACtlism,
3Ibid. ·Of the fev studies that have been undertaken, Azim Nanjt offers us an excellent historieal background of ~he. Niz4rt movement in his ·vork: The Niz8.rI Isma< il.! Tradition in the Indo-Pakistan sub-ContInint,7:FOr a good background of IsmiCI1! penetration into the Indian Sub-continent see, Derryl Maclean, "Religion' and Society in Arab S~nd," . A fev interesting studies ha~ also been undertaken on the ginln literature. See our Bibliography. IW. Ivanov, "The Sect of Imam Shah in Gujarat," Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XII <1936>,20.

(

'H.H. The Agakhan, The Memoirs of Aga Khan, Simon and Schuster, 1954>;-I78-79. --


'o. Maclean, "Religion and Society, 316. 'G. Khakee, "The Da~vatara of Pir Shams as Linguistic and Literary Evidence of the Barly Oevelopment of Ismailism in Sind," Sind Quarterly vol.VIII, No.2 <1980>, 44. 'S.M. Stern, "The Early Ismi
:rr96O>, 85-87. -

l'S.M. Stern, "IsmiCil! Propaganda and Fiti~id Rule in Sind," tslamic Culture, Vol. XXIII <1949>, 298. 11G.

Khakee, The

Da~Avatara

of Pir Shams as Linguistic,

44. IIW. Ivanov, "Satpanth," Collectanea,Vol. 1 <1948>, 6-8. l'Jo N. Hollister, ~ Shia of India, , 346.

(

uMallllidah is a collecti,ve term denoting sectarians, probably shi' t,8, but more particularly extremists like the Car. . tians. The alleged association of the Cermatian vith the

'

•

14

IsmiCtlisCJs weIl known.

See J.H.

Holliste;, The Shia, 348.

11J. N. Hollister maintains, that in the thirteenth century, one comes across activities of the A1amOt Assassins 'in the Indian Sub-contin~nt, when the GhOrid ru1er, Alâ al-Dtn MU9ammad Shah Khwarazm is alleged to have been assassinated by the AlamQt emissaries. Yet, another episode ia believed to have taken place j,n 1236 in Delhi during the reign of Queen Radiyya. This incident claiming to show a continuity of Carmatian activity with that of the Nizâris, reports a group of Carmations under the leadership of one Nûr Turk who gathered at Delhi. They, it is alleged, attacked the masiid and a riot ensued •. It is su9gested by some scholars thât the NOr Turk referred to in this account is the same as NOr Satgur, who according to the Nizârt sectarian ~ccoun~s is considered the first Nizârî missionary to have come to the Sub-continent. However, nothing authentic can be established regarding this connection. For details on the. contr'oversy see, The Shia, 3'8-350.

!à!!

16For details. see, "Our Religious Rites and Rituals," Imami Ismailia Association !2! India, ~ VII, 1975.

l'The text used for this Llljt Devraj, Brahm Prakâsh, Bombay, 1921.

A

thesis ls published by Mukhî Ginan BI Pir Shams al-Dtn,

llWe tried to obtain the manuscript copy of the text which we vere informed is available at the Ismailia Association Library in India. But, due to certain po1icies of the India' Association, we have been unable to obtain the same. ,

c-

ltWe vere informed that Mr. Lâljî Dev-r!j who was in charge of the Recreation Club, an Ism4<11î religious organisation based in India, took upon himself the, task of compiling the Iinins found in the KhOjkt script and transliterated a 1 the available manuscripts of the ginâns for the firat time into Guja'rati acri~t. Since then, the copies of the gin,n texës used by the community are those made availab1e y Liljî Devr'j. For certain' reasons, Lâlji Devrij, is belieqed to have destroyed ,aIl the Khôjki manuscripts in his possession. Consequently, the Ismailia Association, which replaced the Recreation Club, has taken up the task of verifying the Gujarati texts from. manuscripts found elsewhere. ~resently a catalogue of Kho~kt manuscripts which is availahle et the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London is being prepared by Mrs. Zavahir Muir.

. ..

0

15

(

Chapter! Brie! Background g! the Rizar!

in

l!!!.(li! dà (!! t

Indien Sub-continent and the Nature eg

~

Structure 2! the glnln Literature

;

'To

study

an

aspect

of

the

1iterary

tradition

~

movements, such Sub-continent;

as

the

it

Nizirî

is fundamental

features of the movement' and 1

(

in its

Ehought and

only.in this

Ismâ 1 tlîs that

of

the,

J

the

the place this literature holds

history,'be

understood ",clearly.

It is

wày one can hope to appreciate the assumptions

this chapter

development

Indian

ch~racte5istic

reflected in Any particular aspect of 'the movement. resson

of

of

concerns

itse1f

Niz&ri Ismâ Ct1i

the

with the da(wa

in

For this

spread' and the

lndian

<

Sub-continent by way of presenting a brief sketch of the ptrs ~

and dicis whose dacwa activities are

a1!ege~

to have resulted

in the creation of the Nizâri Ismicîlî literary heFitage, the ginlns.

The sectarian

.

sources of

the Nizâri

Ismâ e îlis of v

the

Indian Sub-continent viev their history as beginning with'the split bet-.en

(

.as

to

the Niziris and

sep"rate

'dr.... tlcally.

the

In the

the Fâtimids, an ;event which

course. ~3th

of

century,

the

Ismâ(tl~

the Nizirî

movement I~(tl~s,

• •

0'

.,..

..

.'

---,-----------

. ,

.~

\

1)

16

-

a!ter the

,

sch~sm

und~rgoin9

were

a

\

';

al~Mu~tary§ir

over the issue of succession to change of fortune.

1

The

split between the

.rl 094 led to the 'estabiishment of three"major spheres of Ismâ(îli ~ctivities' supporters of

Nizâf

and

Musta' lî

in

,

during the medieval era. which con~~~nued at by ~

al-Din" in 1171. The

Yemen, which

1

Cairo unti1 it was finally put

.

~alâQ

·of

And

with

the" third

"

which established

sec.ond was the

associated itself

Ismâ< îli~tn.

rëiyyibî ?

The first was thé Fâçimid éaliphate to an end

~ulayQ.id

the

dynasty

adherents

was Nizârî

of

Ismâ(ilism .•

1

its stronghold at

AlamOt and

which under

entered in the

,words of B.

•

n'

,

leadership of

th~

Lewis na period

!

of intensive development in

açtion and

poli~ical

)

'ft'

~a~an-i-~abbâ~

for a

dram~t ic

role in the affa i rs of 1 slam. n 1

1

which

was

Nizârîs.

.

played

an important

and

u

[t wast at AlamOt

,

whil~

doctrine and in

that a

dramatica1~y "~his

event

te

1

significant event

separate

was the

the Fâçimids

proclamation

of the

Nizârîs. 2

The evertt

shift in certain key roles ~f

and

of the

in 1164. by liasan (alâ dhikriht 23rd Imâm

took place

Qiyâmah

al-~1âm, the

of Qiyâmah

mar-ked , a , ""

the doctrine of Imâmah.

IjasaI\.

\

Cala

dhikrihî al-Salâm

established

once

the

and for,

al~

the

er"Ority of the Imâm and 'the institution of the Imâmah. ~ .

According to under

tbe classical

the Fâçimids,

the Ismâ( ili

·based on a cosmic "scheme.·

doctrine, as

,;

i t was . bUilt-'-("'

religious phi
was

The origins of aIl "existence () wère .

17

1

1

seen 'in

the form of a who

Godhead

is

unpred icable. "J

hierarchy emanating from

"unknowab1e,

Throu9h

hi 5 amr

inacce,§isible,

ineffable,

and

through the

process of ibdâ' God ,

the Supreme

brings into existence the

-",..'

world of l ntell igences, the f al-A~wal.

Whfch

~o

~

rst

of which i s ca11ed a1- (AgI

Below these there came

a series of Intelligences,

together consti tuted

what

was

termed as

the

('lam

al-Ibdâ' .' /

1

At another level the hierarchy to correspond to the (A1am ln

order

to

wi thin

beings.

(

provide

represented by lower among principles.

a

the

th,e

l;iudûd al-Din

The higher

( î lt

respectively.

system,

Wâ~î

Imâms

representa t ives 1 the

after

ma?har s of

him

was

worshippers>, the lesser cosmic

the fi r st

These came to the

'Fâ~imids,

human

scheme

turn to the

and

among

thi s


above.

Thus, for th~

the

hierarchy

on es con sti t uted

his

prophet,

and

religious

"1 smâ

Intelligences mentioned wi th

al-Din

whom corresponded in "1

of Intelligence was made

three

be identified

succeeding

Imâms

the prophet Mul)ammad, were

the three

the

epiphanic

l ntell i gences on

the earth.·

A fundamental

principle underlying

this cosmic

scheme

\)

was

~hat

the full

ch~ i

n of hi erarchi es ex i sted as a part of a

f'

(

sing!le indi visible

process.

These

\

.only in

as much as

they formed

"

existed, and

an integra1

had meaning

aspect

of the

)

var~

The

whole system.

18 components

the preceeding phase in terms of phase coming

before.

For

50

on.

example, the

would have to

second Intelligence

the first Intelligence, but

time was superior to the

For man,

9

third l'ntelligence and

the- re-ligious hierarchy

traverse in order to ascend

Intelligence, which

formed for

relation to

being less perfect than the

was considered less "perfect than at the same

stood in

him his

was the

path he

towards the first

goal i.e.

attaining

unit y with God.

As

a

conjunct

hierarchy,

to

the Ismâ<îlî

view of history

theosophy

Each

cycle

heen

six

began with cycles

already

Revelation,

and

al-Qiyâmah
advent of

the

Each of the

the

seventh"would

Qâ' im wi th ne~

proclamation

the

religion.

of

It was represented of Prophecy. There had

his Wâ$î.

Mu~ammad

Prophet

had

cycles was closed by a

one Revelation

Grand Ressurection>.

Sharî'a and herald a

The

and

vertical

typological

scheme of Cycles

the passage from the

of

developed a

a Prophet and

inaugurated the seventh. Qiyâmah marking

scheme

on the horizontol scale.

hor~zonta) scale by a

on the

cosmic

this

end

to another

wi th

a

This would power

to'

Qiyâma t also mark

~brogate

the

1o

Qiyâmah by

Hasan

(alâ

dhikrihî

al-Salâm marked the end of the primacy of the Sharî' a and the beginning of the

new era in which the spiritual

soul

in

was placed

prominence.

The religion

life of the of

Qiyâmah

19

established the

priority of

Imâm who was seen as the scheme,

now

the Imâm

second Intelligence

corresponded

to the

first

epiphany of the creative word the

authority

to make

Consequently,

the

and his

lav

goal

of

a

be1iever,

equal to

knowing

God.

The

C

Fâ~imid

the

guard

it.

traversing

the

For to know the Imâm

religious

Nizârî Ismâ<îlîs, thus, focussed on

The

The Imâm had

.11

than simply

spiritual path, was to 'know' the Imâm. was

in the

Intelligence,

itself

rather

office.

out100k of

the

absolute devotion to the

lmâm, taking on a more personalised forme

The doctrine the priority of

(

the Orthodox stream

of Qiyâmah in

its strongest

the Imâmah set the Nizâr1s

but a1so

of Shî<î

Islam.

distinguished them Along

12

assertion of

not only against from the

with this,

general

the defeat

of

their political base at AlamOt by the Mongols in 1256 decided the fate of

the Nizârî Ismâ<î1ts.

devastation of the

Mongols.

taken and reduced to rubble. but

went

underground

victims to the

Their stronghold at

AlamOt was

The Nizârî Ismâ<îlts

for several

Ismâ< îli Imâms went into the

They tell

centuries.

survived

The

Nizârî

phase of !!ll. or .ene.dnulnt

"

, l

i

1

The remnants,of the sect appeared ~Of1s

in order

to avoid

further

we

now come

to

background,

Sub-continent wher..é initial

penetration

an

henceforth in the guise of persecution. l ' with area, namely,

the

the lsmâ
the Ismâ <11îs,

historically and doctrinally to the

traces

its

this Indian

not the origiJl

Nizârî branch of Persia.

'1

1

20

It constitutes

a distinct

phase from

the earlier

Ismâ(ili

movement in the Indian Sub-continent.

It is from supposed

to

AlamQt and Persia that the sent

have

,ptrs

and

Sub-continent for da(wa purposes. and development of the da
full of

W.lvanow, persecution

Nizâri

and to

is hardly

to

the

Indian

The history of the origins

complications.

Ismâ(ili

pirs,

avoid making

overtly apparent, appeared in

dâ< ts

activities in the Sub-continent

controversies and the

Nizâri Imâms are

their

order

aims and

guise.

~Ofi

any mention of these

in

According

The

ambitions

activities in

only means available

to obtain

information pertaining

to their

sectarian

Ismâcili

But

accounts. 15

avoid

As a result there

pirs or their

non-Ismâ<îli historical sources. 14

to

to

since

history are the

the

sectarian

accounts were written basically for religious purposes and to provide moral and ethical teachings they

are voven ,together vith

extent.

to the convertedmasses,

myth

and legend

to a

large

Hovever, since these sectarian accounts are the only

source of information, reliance on them becomes incumbent.

The spread da(wa

in the

phases: two

The

and the development Indian Sub-continent

establishment of the

figures, NOr

sourc~s

Satgur and

of the can be

al~~tn.

credit these two personalities

da(wa in Sind,

Multan and Gujarat.

_~

____________L __

seen into

dacwa is

Shams

Nizâri Ismâ
associated vith The

sectarian

wi th havi\ng begun the

This

\

phase was followed

21 by the

consolidation of

the Nizârt

conversion and

organisation of the

l5th century.

The third and the

schism of the Nizâri Ismâ(ilis

da
its massive

Nizâri community final phase was

by the

marked by

into two branches: The Khôjâs

and the Imâm Shâhis; this phase led to the termination of the ;-

institution of pirâtan .

Khôjâ

sectarian

accounts

mention

missionary coming to India, in the took the name of NOr Satgur,

the

first

person of Nur al-Din, who

the name meaning teacher of the

true light. 16 A layer of confusion sur rounds this foremost personality figure in Indian

the history

who a1most appears

of the Nizâr!

Sub-continent.1'l

Nizâri

the arrivaI of a legendary

a~

lsmâ
It' is difficult

in the

to ascertain

the

time of NOr Satgur's arrival or' the period of his activities, which makes

it difficult, to

the establishment

determine the actual

of the Nizâri

period of

Ismâ(ili da(wa in

the Sub-

continent.

The

sectarian sources

regarding NOr they are was

furnish

Satgur, but it

dubious.

sent either

preach on behalf

It is by

shrine

l '

alleged

hardly need be

al-Mustan,ir,

of his son ~izâr in

27th Imâm to be

with certain

the

tbat

ef

Fâ~imid

~asan

Nizâr~.s.l

NOr

NOr Satgur Caliph,

the Sub-continent 1

later date by of the

dates

mentioned that

variously alleged that

-that he was sent at a much , -' al-Salâm, the

us

t

to '

(aIl dhikrihî

Furthermore,

Satgur at

or

Navsari

a in

22

Gujarat, mentions the year of his death as 1094. 20 -, coincides with

the date

of the

death of

al-Mustan,ir, the

w.

last Caliph before the Niz&rl-Musta'lian split. 110

of the opinion that this was probabl

,

branches of pir&n&

This date

Ivanow is

concocted by one of the

Sayyids establish d at

after the

Navsa~i

split in the community during the 15 h/16th centuries. 21 /

If information regarding the pe sona1ity who is oredited 1

vith

having estab1ished

Sub-continent

is

the Nizâri

Ismâ(!lî

shrouded, details

da(wa in

regarding

the

second

personality in the da
figure in the da
This is

community converts Sabzav&ri.

in at

evidenced

Upper the

Sind

hands

of

presently they

spiritual leader. 23

in Sind and

by,--the

presence

call

themselves

who the

Nizârî

of a

large

'Shamsis',

Shams

the Aghâ Rhân

~ec09nise

Since it is to

Pir

Shams

is supposed to

carried on . Nizârî da
Multan. 22

the

al-Dtn as their

him that the ginân Brahm

Prakish, the object of our study is attributed,

we will deal

vith him in detail. , 1

Traditions

i

aCQuired

1

for

'~urroundin~ h~m

many

identities.

identities, there has been a

r

Shams

al-Din ' Sabzavâri Among

the

has

various

confusion ,of ,two other d1stinct

)

II

.. -

_ .,60

,

l

1

f

23

(

Person~lities,

Shams al-Dtn

MUQammad, the

Nizlri Imam

and

Shams-i-TabrIzi, the mentor of Jalàl-ud-Otn RGmI.

In attempting id~ntities,

a ginân

the earliest sectarian source

SatveQiji Vel. z4

MUQammad Shâh, Nizâri

the

Sabzavâri.

Imâm

ginân

of the

available to us ls

confuses Shams

Nizâris

with in

with Shams

The ginân

says that

India for da
attributed to

Shâh, who seceded

al-Din

This particular

purpose~.

Nar MUQammad Shâh,

claiming the

was fundamental lineage in

for

the son

order

to

direct descent

~laiming

Imâmah for

himself.

hereditar1~

to establish

authenticate his

from

of Imâm

Nizâri da'wa in

Nar MUQammad .Shâh

making Ptr Shams al-Dln the same and

Vel

Mu~ammad,

Imâm Shams

from the main line of the

15th/16th centuries,

direct

Shams

SatveQiji

Since the institution of Imâmah .in Ismâ
al-Din

Pir

al-Dtn

claims.

" 1

a

By

L

~

person as Imâm Shams al-Dtn Shams, he

~tr

could then

assert his own right to the Imâmah. 2s

As

(

J

~

abdicated the lmâmah in favour of his son Qâsim Shâh

ginân is

'.

to Nar

later phase' of the

state,ment

al-Dtn Sabzavâri

and travelled to

the

'This

confusion of

is attributed

figure in the

astonishing

Nizâri Imâm.

M~mmad

(

28th

The

equates Shams

This ginân

an active

IsmâCilt da(wa.

Mu~ammad,

the

to trace the' cause of this

for

the

identification

Shams-i-TabrizI, it has

Imam Shams

al-Otn.

ImAm

of

also,been d~e to Shams al-Otn

Ptr

Shams

.

vith

the confuston vi~ ia supposed

",

to have

-_ _._--,----..

l

1

,

,

24

}

cau~e

lived in Tabr!z for a period of time which could be the for confusing -

Shams

vith

the tvo. Imam

amal9ama~ion

Purther," the identifieliltion

Shaml,

in

due

course

resulted

The

Sub-continent, there

first

in

the

of these three distinct personalities. 2 '

activ~

with regard to the period of Ptr Shams' da' va in the

of Ptr

is a

are apparently

Shajra '
three versions.

tree>.found

in

the

, ,

custody of the mutawallt of the Nu1tan.

shrine of Pir Shams in Uehh,

The Shajra says that Shams al-Otn was born in Ghazni

on the 17th Rajab 560/1165 i.e. the

f~ll

of

AlamOt.

The Shajra makes him come

"

"

,598/1201 and permits to

have come

about a hundred years before to Multan in

him to live till 675/1276.

,Ofi eelebrity Bahâ' ~. al-Otn ZakariyyA, who is supposed to have died in 1276. 17

The

into

second

attributed

to

contact with

He is said

version Shams

is

the

obtained

al-Dtn himself.

from

They

the refer

ginâns to

his

activities during the early part of the 12th eentury. SurbhâQ

" longer ginâns attributed to Shams al-Oln, !!l, one of the mentions his arrival in of

his gin&ns,

given

a~

Samvat

1

ChandrabhâQ y!! ,

Samvat 1200/1143. 2 '

1175/1118.:lI Tet, in anotbe.r his arrival

However,

in Chenab

when we

is

come across

the name of the Imam on whose behalf Shams al-Oin is supposed to have

earried on

Shah is

mentioned.'·

AlamOt periode

da
Oisim ShAh

AlamOt, as i8

name of

ImAm Qisim

belongs to

well-knovn, vas' razed

the post by the

r

J

25

(

Mongols in

lZ56, and,after that

and their

ImAms enters a new

the history of

the NizAris r The child of the last

stage.

Imam of

AlamOt, ROkn al-Dtn KhOr

al-Dtn.

In the IsmA
the Imâm who the ImAm

ShAh, is said to

succeeded Imâm Shams.

of the

time, then

would extend into the l4th

shâh is the name of

Thus, if

the period

be Shams

Qâsim Shah was

of Shams'

activity

century.~l

It is proposed that this

confusion can be attributed to

a li;tle known schism which took place upon the death of ImAm Shams. them

(.

Two giving

branches of allegiance

the IsmA
associate ptr Shams with this

were tormed,

Shâh.

The

one of

attempt

to

Imâm was perhaps the assertion

of a group in India of its support for Qâsim Shâh. 33

Yet, another layer of confusion sources

linking

Kashmir. by one

Ptr

Shams

to

The NOrbakhshtya Order Shams al-Din, the

Qâsim.~3

Kashmir

Since

travelled

in

1502. through

Tibet

the

NQrbakhshtya

sect

in

was,introduced into Kashmir

son of Sayyid

who represented ShAh ,

was added in the modern

Shams

MUQammad NOrbakhsh,

al-Dtn began his work in

Ptr Shams and Kashmir,

is

supposed it

appears

to

have

that

a

confusion occurred equating the two distinct personalities.

The confusion

is further clouded

mutawallts of the shrine of Ptr

by the tact

that the

Shams claim themselves to be

lthnl (ABharts, followers o( NOs' Ki,im. They also claim that

i

'1 1 i

i

26

Ptr Shams came

to the Indian Sub-continent in

order to make

Ithn' CAshar! da(va. a •

Despite all

the clarifications offered,

personality of this p!r remains obscure.

the historieal

The personality who

,

is credited

vith having set

motion and

to vhom is alao

the Nizari Ismi
da
remains an enigma. Thus, the initial phase represented by NOr Satgur and Shams al-Din remains shrouded in doubt.

The figure in is attributed is there is

the da
~adr al-Ot~.

non-Ismâ'il!

sources,

•

contributions towards the Muslims

in

the

sources

credit 1 sd
eommunity.

He 15

al-Din with

da
Khwâja."

Nizlri Isma'il!

i 1

,t

1

al-Dtn vas

is a

made

and to

The

having

with

Khôjâ

as a

valuable and the sectarian the

organized

the

having

eongregational !

community and called converts

The term Khôjâ in current corruption of

succeeded by

~adr

consolidated

have established

the word,

bis son

Nothing is recorded of his activities.

)

who

interaction of the Hindus

houses for the by the title,

one

l4/15th centuries." ~adr

establish

He is considered

a historical personality.

,Oft . in

~adr

this period onwards

sufficient information available to

al-otn as

NizAri

From

a key role

~asan

use for a

kbw!ja. Kabir

Pir

al-Dtn.

In the SatveQiji, the

·f.,

27

date of his death is given as 1449."

The consolidation phase of the NizArt Ismaetlt dacva was followed by a major schism

in the 15th/16th centuries.

This

split occurred because of the claims by Imâm Shâh, the son of Kabir

al-Oin

sectar~an

over

pirâtan.

According

to

the

Nizâri

accounts, Kabtr al-Otn was succeeded by his brother

Tâj al-Oin as a

pire

It is alleged that Tâj

al-Otn was not

accepted as a pir by a section of the community and his death at an

,

early~age

on the one hand,
to the shock

arising from the allegation of the community that he had kept for himself the

(

najrAnA or offerings to be

ImAm of the time> and the claims

submitted to the

of lmâm ShAh for pirâtan on

the other hand, plunged the community into crisis.'·

The endowed

NizArî sources with

mention that

pirâtan

the

by

established

himself at

activities.

Hawever, it was his

perhaps

taking

~ommunity

at

independent Gujarat.

the 1ine

The Imam

death and

of

carried

son, Mar the

of

'Ptr

Shâh was

out his

Mu~mmad

turbulence Tâj

never

Nevertheless,

Imam.

Gujarat and

advantage

Imim

a1-0tn,

dacw.

ShAh, who

within set

organised

the

Imam

Shaht

a1-Mustan,ir

II,

in response

he

the

up

an

sect

in

to

this

schiam dispatched a book, the 'PandiyAt-i Jawinmardt'

(

community to

condemning the Imam accept the

book as a (-

ShAhts and ptr. l

'

To

exhorting the avoid further

crisis in future, the structure of the da cwa va'. changed with #

.

1-

.,

j

f

1

;

t the

1

t ~

28

,. Imams

appainting

community.

With

Vaktls

the crisis



to

administer

and the split,

the age

the,

of the

ptrs and of massive conversion came to an end.··

.t

The split

separated the Nizâr! IsmA
community into "li>

tvo branches.

The

name Satpanthis, from that

iS'used specifically the

followers

to in'dicate the Imâm

of the

Nizâri

Imâms

time onwards,

Shâh! line, while

are known

as

Khôjâs.

Although the Imâm Shâhis possess the sa me ginân literature as the

Kh6jâs, they

do

not consider

themselves

to have

any

connection with the latter.· 1

With regard to the nature of Indian

Sub-continent,

pr~blem.

appealing

the

the da
Nizâri

pirs

They had to present Islam to the

states, that

nev

converts

"the pirs separated

faced

a

critical

in a form which would be

w.

from Hinduism. the meaning and

Islam from its hard Arabie shell."·2

Ivanow

spirit of

He further states:

They explained the high ideals of Islam in the familiar terms of the ancestral religion and culture of the nev converts Hinduism, striving to make of them good mu'minf, sincere adepta of the spirit of Islam, rather than muslims, i.e. those who formally profess Islam, often without ~ying attention to its spirit and implieations.· 3 The attempts crovning

phase

of the of

the

pirs was to whole

project Islam

development

of

as the

Hinduism.

1

1

/

f 29 t~

According

them, the Qur'in was the las; and the final Ved,

completing,

abrogating,

revelations. prepar~tory

In

this

phase,

and

superseding

theory,

Hinduism

(1

just as

the was

earlier ~erely

Christiani ty, J,udaism,

a

etc.,', in

the revelation of the only true religion, Satpanth.'.

By

following

this

'bridge' between Ismâ<îlism and ideas' to

enter

that

pi~s

strategy, the

constituted a

Hinduism which permitted new

entirely

different

world

of

Hindu

mentality.

f

One of the " critical ways in which the idea the

(

culmination

of

utilization of the the Hindus

Hinduism

was ,projected

of Islam as came

Dasa Avatâra

as upheld' by the

VaishQavas.

The

through theory of'

Lord VishQu,

according tothe VaishQavas is incarnated in various forms in different ages VaishQavas

have been

Naklanki or

In this Kali

<~>.

awaiting

Kalki to

apparently, Pir Shams who first da'wa

purposes
ginins attributed

,

'

.-

well>.

He preached

indeed

(AIt,

Mullammad.

the

~

" the

last Avatâra

manifest himself.

as

It was

utiliz~d thi's theory for the

be seen,

to Shams al-Oin,

apart

from the

in the Brahm

(

other

Prakâsh as

that the last incarnation' of VishQu was-

manifest~d

'By 'so doing,

during the h~

time

superimposed

of

the

Prophet

the Shi (i

fOrDlOf

Islam upon a Hindu VaishQava sub-structure.·'

..

known

,

l l

j 1 1

t

.. f:f .~'..­

,-

~,

[

t "

30

,

,'.

,-

)'

Apart from incorporating the

basic Dasa Avatâra theory,

the pirs also made use of ' Hindu mythologic;:al --

re1ating

them to - Islamic figures,

con'tinui ty of

Hindu tradition

~igures,

attempted Islami~

into

to project ft tradition.

C

figure of Brahma

instance, the

and by,

For

was id~-Kt'i fied'

the creator,

with that of the Prophet Mu~ammad, the figure of Saraswatî as Bra~ Ji!JJ--:r:,

the daughter of the Prophet

The

w.

as

Ivanow

the foundation to

of further

great progress

ane potentialities."4' was the creation

innovative synthesis in

the form of'a

for

Hinduism

from

conv~rts

...

pirs

a new cultural group which . in i tself bore

the major resulting elements

new

that the

stat~s,

cultures into one, and 1aying

succeeded win welding the two

One of

the maughter 'of

Mu~ammad."

resuJt was,

the seeds

~f Fâ~imah,

with tnat

These

various

new literature geared

projecting the

long

of"'n

and

short

true

p~th

c,ompositions

consisting of devotional hymns, baslcally didactic in nature, came to be termed as ginâns. "

The wor~ ginân 15 a jnâna,

i~

which

/

popu1~rization ôf the sonskrit wor~

,commonly

definee

as

wcontemplativ'e" o~ .".,.,

Meditative knowledge."" the

word

ginân

In the

refers to

Nizârî Ismâcîlî

those

authorship is attributed to their came

to

,conversion.

theThe

Indian

Ismâcîlî

wri&ings

~

whose

various ~â"« îs and pîr,s who

Sub~continent'

ginSn literature

tradition,

for

preach~ng

constitutes

almost

and the

-t r

.1

c

(

entire

corpus

community.

31 of

indigenous literature

Consequently, it forms

for the study of any aspect Ismâ( îH community in the day Ismâ( ilis the

ceremonies

in

the

the most important source

Indian Sub-continent. as

still recited

conducted

by

of the development of the Nizârî

regard ginâns

ginâns are

preserved

sacred literature. as

a part

their jamâ(ât

provides a fairly detailed Iist 800 9 inâns of va rying 1ength,

The present

of the

Most of religious

w.

khanâ.

of the ginâns."

Ivanow

He records

be 1 i eved to have been composed

by the Ismâ( ili dâ( 15 and pîrs at least from the 13th century until the

early part

of this

century when

the composition ,.

process ceased and the ginân corpus was f rozen.

(

50

It is maintained by the Nizâri Ismâ( îlis that the ginâns began

as oral

tradition.

It

is,

therefore, difficult

ascertain when

writing of

the ginâns

actual1y began.

to The

manuscripts in which the ginâns are recorded are àvailable at the Ismailia Association for dated is mentioned

Pakistan. The oldest manuscript

to have been copied in

manuscript, like several others, is copied

f rom older

ones, i t

is

~

1736.

Since this

mentioned as having been

believed tha t

the task

of

recording ginâns could have been undertaken at least from the l6th century. S l

The manuscripts of the ginân literature hav"e survived in

(

the khÔjki or earl i est

the

.0

khwâja Sindhi script. form

of

Sindhi

This

writing

script represents in

proto-Nagari

32

characters.

The

khôjkî script appears

Nizârî Ism§c îlîs

in the

history of

This script, it is believed, was p!rs

in order

to

preserve

to the

Indo-Muslim literature.

used by the Nizârî Ismâ<îlî

Ismâcîlî doctrines

community and 'also, perhaps, to

within

foster a sense

identity.52 Presently the ginâns, at religious ceremonies, have been script, as most of the present

to be unique

the

of communal

least those recited for

transliterated into Gujarati day Ismâ<îlîs do not read the

Khôjkî script.

At least

six Indian languages

Multani, punjabi,

are used in

the ginâns:

Sindhi, Gujarati, Hindi, and

Kacchi.

The

~

languages used in the ginâns reflect the areas from which the manuscripta of the ginân may have originated. of ginâns,

they are

devotional

type

composed in

of

the style

literature

usually either

written in in

the

a

form

popular of

MOSt

medieval era in the

The ginâns

are of

pada

forme

of

of the

characteristic

religious literature emerging during the Indian Sub-continent. 53

As to the form

varying lengths, Each stanza

chaupâi



more verses

do exist

or

of

is dohâ

.

Stanzas containing literature, but The longer ginâns f 1

t f i,

on the whole

Y!l

they reflect these

called granths are usually

Severa1 long compositions

contain a form of

whi1e a few a1so exist in

in the

a minor
ginân

two forms.

given a title. appendix called ~>

or major

33

(

version, a possible indication that one of them was a later composition modelled on main characteristic feature of the ends

with

composer

the of

bhaçitâ

the

or

ginân.

a

the other.54

ginâns is that each ginân

signature,

This feature

identifying

is

common

developing qevotional literature in north India.

Ginâns are meant to be '~o

One of the

sung and recited.

the

to

the

55

Râga ,

)

therefore, is one

of the ,main features of

the ginâns.

Râga

"\

is a name given to a

elass of melodies which constitutes the

highest expression of Indian classical music."

.

believed to create

(

the mind

of a

This is the is meant

a special emotional effect

listener

~nd

puts him

to be

sung on

whieh colours

into a

reason why eaeh ginân has a

Each râga is

certain mood.

particular râga and

specifie occasions

for a

specifie

ri tuaI or as an 'aid to medi tat i on on the spi ri tuaI pa th .

.

The ginân Iiterature is its composers

50

generally arranged accocding to

that ginâns attributed to

are compiled together.

a particular pir

A complete subject or doctrinal-wise

classification, which would prove

useful for categorizing or

indexing the ginâns has not yet been attempted. partIy

because each

ginân has

a number

This is true

of themes

running

through it, which accordingly precludes classification of the 9 inins.

.,1 l

( Hovever,

a preliminary

classification

attempted in

a

34

survey

work may

be offered

in

the absence

investigation of the ginân literature. 8S

follows:

i>

detailed

The classification is

57

Ginâns that can be termed as conversion ginâns.

ginâns belonging of

of a

Hindu

to this category reflect

themes

and

concepts

to

the Avatâra theory believe in the

of the VaishQava Hindus.

the Lord VishQu have

The VaishQavas to the earth.

manifested themselves

were awaiting the manifestation

Satpanth Ismâ<îlism to

Vaishfiava belief, by

Satpanth

bas ic concept used was

Avatâra of Lord VishQu to redeem them. pîrs showed

the

descent of VishQu in ten forms

Nine Avatâras of and the people

the incorporation

explain

rel igion, i. e. Ni zârt l smâ Ct l i sm. The

The

5 '

of the tenth

The Nizârî Ismâ<îlî

be a completion

portraying
of this

Imâm of the

IsmâCilis, as the tenth awaited Avatâra.

The aecounts

of traditional figures of

Hindu mythology ~

ean

included

be

Harisehandra,

this

Draupadî

eonsidered as models Hindus.

in

the

and

These mythologieal

incorporated in the ginâns.

and

~he

brothers

as are

conduct for the

seen lifted

and

For example, in one of the small of Draupadî, is carried over

Hindu tradition, where she

righteousness, into

such

idealized in the Hindu

figures are

ginâns of Pir Shams, the figure from the

Pândava

of proper behavior and

These figures are eonstantly

tradition.

Figures

category.

Ismâ(ilî

is a model

of chastity

tradition, where

she

35

(

becomes the model of an ideal believer who sacrificrs herself for the sake of religion.

i i> deal

The

second category of

with cosmological

again we Islam.

l '

and

the ginAns are

those that

eschatological theories.

find a variety of

theories both from

Here

Hinduism and

For instance, in the ginân "Ad unâd kî vAuî", a Hindu

cosmologieal theory is ineorporated within the IsmâCtlî frame work.'o

In

yet

another

Sîrjanhâr", an Islamie

ginAn

the~ry

"Dhan

has

dhan

Râjo

~

been utilized.

!Y

Both these

are attributed to the authorship of Pir Shams al-Dîn.'l

(

iii>

The third category would

moral and ethical

include ginâns which are

in nature, aimed at

instructing

from Hinduism to lead a moral and religious life. 'So Kriyl' a tvo advices

iv>

converts The ginâns

hundred obligatory acts, 'Bâwan Bodh'

or fifty

can be included in this category.'2

The fourth

category' includes those ginAns

be sung on specifie occasions,

meant to

such as Navrûz, the ascension

of an Imâm, Milâd al-Nabt or for certain religious ceremonies such as ghat-pAt."

v>

The fifth

'lnd

the

last category

ginAnl which are mystical in nature.

(

this

category

deal

developed betveen the

vith

mystical

includes

The gin'ns

belon~ing

relation-ships

Lord and a murtd.

those,

to

to be

This is exemplified

rt r t{

36

!

in the gin!ns

as a spiritual relation-ship

mOrid, who

1 f

and a

1

fundamental spiritual relation-shïp with a murtd.

post-AlamOt

- 1 ,

as ve

have seen

between the lmâm

developed

concept~

above, according of

lmâmah,

to the

stands

in

f

(

1

In this category,

one comes across theories

those found in both ,Oft fundamental

emphasis

mentioned above,

similar te

and Hindu mystical traditions.

of

is on the

these

mystical

The

compositions,

establishment of a

personal and

interior relation-ship between the Imâm and a murid, in

orde~

that the latter might attain the divine vision . to attain the

divine vision of the Lord is

attainment of

mokta

The ginâns of

this category, therefore, describe

~rom

as

For

equated with the

human life

on earth. the path a

murid would have to traverse in order to attain the vision of the Lord this

and contain

category

instructions of-how

belong

the

Bujh

Niranjan

to attain and

it. Tc

the

Brahm

Prakâsh.'·

And it attention". th~

is to the Chapter

Brahm Prak&sh

Brahm Prakâsh,

II offers a into English.

that ve now

translation of the Chapter

text of

III focusses

analrais of the Brahm PrakAsh.

f

turn our

)

--

on

37 1

(

Hot•• ~ ChaPter ! lB. Lewis, The Nicolson, 1967>, 36:--

Assassins,


Weidenfeld

and

2For details on the signifieanee of the QiyAmab event both from the doctrinal as well a$ historieal pOInt of view see M.G.M. Hodgson, The Order of the As&assin&>, ;-148-159.----'H. Corbin, "Divine Epiphany and Spiritual Birth in Ismailian 'Gnosis," in Papere from Eranos Yearbooks, Vol.V, Bollingen Series, XXX, , 1~7-l28. 4

Ibid.

, l b id., '95.

'A.Nânji, The Nizâri, 107. 'H. Corbin, "Divine Epiphany, 74. '1'- ,

(

IIbid.

'w. Ivanow, Brief Survey of the Evolution of IsmA, 47:---ltA. Nânjt, The NizAri, 108. 'ch

llH. Corbin, "Divine Epiphany, 129. 13The Nizâ~l da in contra~t to the da of the FAtimids which confined in Cairo after tbe schism. ,

l'For details see, M.G.M. Hodgson, "The Isml,L 465-466. HW.

Ivanow, "The Sect, 22.

l'The sectarian accounts of the Indian IsmA the orally transmitted tradition vhich'the IsmA(tlts themselves maintain concerning the history of their own pJrs. During the last fev deeades a nev literature in Gujaratl has sprung up-by the Isml<11ts themse1ves attempting to explain ,the hiltory of the Nizar! tl. . (t1t8. Such for instance are the Kh&jl Komno Itlhis <1908>, a History of the Kb&jAs, bl' Jaffer Ra imtoola Kadru; Mo.ln Komno ItthAs , a Hiatory of Imam Shlhts, bl' Miyanji Noormahomed Roohkash; -Ismaili" ,

ri 1

38 }

by Ali Mahomed .Janmahomed Chunara and Noorun 1936> br the same author. The significance of these vorks lie in hitherto unrecorded oral tradition.

Mubin
the incorporation of

b> a large bodf of religious li'terature, the ginlns of which Me have àealt ln details further below in this chapter. l'J. N. Hollister, 'l'he Shia, 351.' l1A. Nanjt, The NizArt, 60-61. liA.

Chunara, Noorun Mubin, Reviseà by Jaffarali Sufi, 'l'hird edition, , 215-216.

Muha~à

uJ.

N.

Hollister, The Shia, 351.

21W. Ivanov, "Satl>anth, 6-8. 21Ibid.,11. 22J. N. Hollister, 'l'he Shia, 333. uAziz Ahmad, An 'Intellectual Histori of Islam in India, , 24-25:2·"Satve9ijt .Vel," in Imam Shah n! 9inlnno, Published by Mukh! Laljt DevrAJ, n.d., verse no.72. 2'A. Nanjt, The NizArt, 62-63. l'Ibid., 64.-=2'W. Ivanov, "Shams " Tabrez of Nultan," in Professor Nuhamaad Shafi Presentation Volume, edited br S.M. Abdullah, , 116. ,

2··Surbhl9,· in Ptr Sham. na Grantho, Published by Mukhî Lllj! DevrAj, n.d., vërie no.5.2f·ChandrabhlQ," in ptr·Shams na Grantho, Mukht Laljt Devraj, n.d., ruse no.6:-

'tA. Nanjt, 'l'he NizArt, 63. 2lIbid. '2Ibid., 65. "Ibid.,

6'.

_~

__________

.~_L

_ _ _ _ __

Publisheà by

...

39

(

1

36G. Khakee, "The Dasa Avatara as Linguistic, 44.

1

31M. Hidayetullah, Kablr: The Apostle of Hindu-Muslim Onity, , 45. -36the term "Khwâja W means Wthe honorable or vorshipped converts w• For details on the term and its usage, see K. B. Fazalullah, GazetteeT 2! !h! Bombay Presidency, Vol. IX, part 2, <1899>, 36-49·~

1 j

it !

1

,l

"J. N. Hollister, The Shia, 357.

"A.

1

, ,

Nânjt, The Nizârt, 85.

"J. N. Hollister, The Shia, 362. 6'Ali Asani, "The Isma< tU qinân Literature: Its Structure and Love-Symbolism," , 15. 61W. Ivanov, "The Sect, 43. 62W. Ivanow, "Satpanth, 20. 6'Ibid., 18.

(

6·Ibid., 24. .IG. Khakee, Linguistic, 46.

WThe

Da sa

Avatara

of

.' Plr

Shams

as

t6A. Schimmel, "Reflections on Popular Mus1im Poetry," Contributions 12 Asian Studies, Vol. 17<1984>, 18. ·~w.

Ivanow, "Satpanth, 27 •

• 'See B. Walker, wKnowledge" in The Hindu Wor1d: Encyclopeedic Sur~ey of Hinduism, ,vol.I, 555.

... t'w.

Iv~nov,

An

A:

Guide, 174-181.

.elt is maintained -by the Nizlrt community that ·g.inln-s vere composed till the turn of this ceptury. Tb.~ tast composer ia said to be Sayyidna Imam BegOm, who lived in Karachi. After her death in early 1940's the compo$ition proceBs ceased and the ginln corpus vaB frozen • • 1Ali Asani, "The IsmA'tl! gin'n, l l .

(

-

• -Ibid.

,sA. HAnj!, The Hiz.rl, 20.

1 J

r j

lÎ

40

62.

··c.

Vaudeville, Rabtr, ,

·'B. Walker, Hindu World, Vol. II, 266. '~for this section ve have drawn freely upon Ali Asani, "The IsmA(tl! ginan, particularly, 13-18. 1

'Ibid., 14.

lmami Ismailia Association for India, A • 'Shia Collection of Ginans ~ the Great Saint. Ptr Shams, Bombay;

1952.

-

,. Ibid. 'lIbido '2for

listing of

these gin'ns see,

W. Ivanow

Guide,

174-81.

'2the term is a compound of two Sanskrit words ~ and At present time in the Niz8rt Ismi
....

Numerous references to this ceremony of 9hatptt, a1so knovn as paval signifying that which purifies, are ound in the ginanl. The persian term Ab-i-Safa is also used by the Nizlrt IsmA(!lfs.

.

'·The text of the Bujh Niranjan is published by the Shia Ismailia Association for India, in ·Pavitra Ginlnno Sanghra," Bombay, 1962. For an interesting thesis on Buj~ Niranjan worked upon recently see Ali Asani, "Bujh Nlranjan: A Critical Edition of a Mystical poem in Hindustani with its Khojki and Gujarati Recensions," •

.)

,

41

(

CHAPTIR

li

A Translation of the gi ,n Brahm prat'sb <ïHvIiielllUli nation> ~

1

(

~

The sat éabda is our guru , the world does not recognise it.

1

Reflect on the sat éabda, utter p!rshâh frequently.

2

Meditate through the tongue first, recite pîrshâh pîrshâh day and night.

3

For three months it stays upon the tongue, then gets absorbed in what is named Brahm.

4

On uttering the Name, love sets ablaze, Thence emerges self-conviction.

5

Say! 0 brother, what kind of love is this, l shall reveal the hidden secret for you.

6

Overwhelmed, the ripple of love arises, . In that state the sweetness of the mouth escapes.

7

It oozes out et the intimation of ensuing love, In the midst of that state, the mind gets .absorbed.

8

As the current of love moves along its banks, captivated by love, he gets intoxicated. J Astonishingly he babbles and his ,peech becomes dauntless, this ls the sign of having reached farther. 10

(

In what manner, can l extol the 'divine bliss', Its majesty is greater than which can ever be expressed. Il •

42

He who relates from books and leaflets, will not have access to that bliss.

12

A matted hair mendicant impressing himself as a bhagvin , that bliss remains hidden from him.

13

A mendicant- applying ashes and possessing no material assets, he did not even brush the surface of the secret to that bliss.

14

Being an aseetic, yet not immersed in aseeticism, that bliss remains concealed from him.

15

Worshipping to the and keeping devout bliss.

~angam

day and night aith in it, will never attain that

16

Attaining bodily immorta1ity, yet not comprehending its value, , Say, how will he have aeeess to that bliss?

17

Perfoming sixty-eight pilgrimages and bathing the body for purification, he will not have heard of that bliss.

tl8

The pious one performing the six important sacrificial rites, , that bliss remai.ns distinct from him.

19

Nurtured by mi1k alone, a Saivite hermit, without that b1iss, his physical body is desolate.

20

Worship~ing

stones, ringing bells, those w1ll not dream of that bliss.

21

Singing and playing loud on instrum.nts, those did ,not realize the value of tbat,bliss.

22

\.,

-

u

43

(

Carrying volumes of books for many people to notice , without that bliss, they remained worthless.

, ,23

AlI the literates become vain for their accomplishments, became oblivious of th~ path itself to that bliss.24

1 (

(

Attaining bodily i~rtality through medicinal herbs, those will never attain that bliss.

25

Many prepare Medicinal water, those did not discriminate the that bliss.

26

~usterity

towara

Many play fair and fouI dtamas, i~ the name of that bliss, merely satiated their material desires.

27

Spreading witch-craft and sorcery successfully, that bliss remains distinct from him.

28

Pounding assemblies, makin9 himself the excellent one, he did not attain the assets of that bliss.

29

Performing ten million horse-sacrifices, he wi,ll not discover the dwellin~. abode. of that bliss.

. 30

He who buries his body alive into the earth, he forgot the passage itsêlf to that bliss.

31

He who forsake taste and consumed roots, he did not obtain the taste of that bliss.

32

Oi99in9 a cave and burying himself into the earth, he --also did not atta in thi s 'b,li ss.

33

Balancing into the air and burying into t~e earth, both the means prove useless, if that bliss is not achieved. ,,~

34

>

44

One who goes to Kashi and tortures himself, he will not have obtained the least knowledge of that bliss. Going to the Himalayas to bury his limbs, he could not bury himself into that 'bliss.

35

36

J

One who scorches his own self, 'the subject of that bliss remains unique to him. v

37

•

.

One who becomes à roaming derwish and explores portions of the earth, thAt bliss remains farther remote to him.

38

He who is fortunate in'life and He who has matérial plenty, withou~ reciting One Name, that bliss remains distinct from him. 39

A

J

l showed to you, the asceticism of those who did not attain, now, l shall, explain to you of those who have attained.

40

Siva, Sankâdik iltained that bliss, and liberated themselves from'the cycle of coming and 90)ng.

41

}SOkhadev, Vyâsa merged into the bliss, they will neVer fall into the cycle of returning.

42

Dhruva, pralhâd merged into that bliss, and relieved themselves from the bondage of eiqhty-four cycles of rebirth.

43

Kabîr, the slJve and Râmânanda the master, attained that bliss and rejoiced -in it.

44

.

"

Nâmdev after attaininq that bliss, fulfilled his mission absolutely.

.

..

45

45

•

(

Pipa, bhannâ and Rohidâs, attaining that bliss made it their abode.

46

And Nânak Shâh attained, he attained it by concentrating on the One Name alone.

47

vi san, Sur i jan and Mâdhavdâ s, aIl made' their dwelling into that

48

blis~.

Dâdû, Rajab, Parsa and Gîyânî, attained that bliss only through firm me'ditation.

49

Ranka, vai'ika, Kalu and Kunbhâ, they also drowned themselves in that bliss.

50

Khetâ, Ga~te, Sajnâ and Sena also, immersed themselves into that bliss.

51

Agar, Kîlijan and Tulsî attained, they a1so found themselves in harmony with that bliss.

52

Morardâs and Maluk jang1, they were also in harmony with that bliss.

53

1

Haridâs and the humble Bajindâ, they also merged in the current of"that b1iss.

,

That same bliss Esar Tunbar attained, uttering the name, absorbed himself into it.

55

The philosophers and the ascetics, by attaining that bliss became fortunate.

56

That bliss Gorakh attained undoubtedly, understanding asceticism earned the reward of hjs austerities.

57

(

\

4)

46

The ascetics, Gopîchand and Bhartharî, they were also fortunate to attain that bliss.

58

AIl who attained were revealed to you, Yet, there is no end to those who attain.

59

In innumerable eras those who contemplated on the Name

found themselves in harmony with that bliss.

60

Now for six months the meditation is centered in the 'heart', every breath repeatedly contemplating just One Name.

61

One day greets with astonishme~t, 'eas i ly' the medi tat ion reaches the 'navel'.

62

For nine months the Name is held, in the same state of meditation and in the same abode of happiness. 63 From the 'west', it begins to rise upwards toward the 'sky' , reaching there witnesses an incomprehensible show.

64

wi thout ra in where the slty thunders, wi thout a vi sible place where one dwells.

65

without clouds where it rains, where dwells a 'pe-rson' without a human forme

66

Say, in what manner does the slty thunder? Say, how does one dwell without a dwelling?

67

Say, in what manner does it rain? Say, in what way does a 'person' dwell without a human form?

68

47

In an awful unconstrained manner, the sky thunders, the mind sits at the trio place .

69

In the sukhmanâ the rain trickles, where dwells the 'faultless' without a human form.

70

There is no trumpet, yet there is a melody! there is no sun, yet it is bright!

71

There is no source for a river, yet there flows the Ganges! there is no inmate, yet there is a friend!

72

Say! what would you calI a melody? Say! what is this brightness?

73

Say! what would you calI the Ganges? Say! whom would you calI a friend?

74

Where the trumpet strikes anâhata nâda, where the sun rays radiate sharply.

75

The creation is in the sukhmanâ ganga, where the surati éabda unite together.

76

j

"

And 1 can talk of the world easily, the significance of that place cannot be expressed.77 Indivisible éabda cannot be impaired, day and night remains in its pristine forme -- Immortal éabda never ceases 1 becoming surati, is absorbed in the êabda. '

(

78

79

i

j

48

Incomprehensible êabda held through meditation, 'easily' the burden of salvation is resolved.

80

Immortal éabda l say, never perishes, uniting with Brahm assumes immortality.

81

Timeless éabda is where there is no bondage of time, day and night, surati is absorbed in it.

82

Indivisible êabda visualised in meditation, he terminates the process of coming and going.

83

Unwritten sabda expressed throught asceticism, due to surati, attains the fruits of salvation.

84

Unshaken éabda, nothing can tilt it, the sabda is immeasurable, who can then weigh it?

85

The unfathomable sabda, who can find its limit? the sabda is boundless, who can estimate its depth?

86

Where the surati sabda dwells, there is neither the earth nor the skYe

87

When the surati éabda overpowers, mind, then the fear of life and death vanishes.

88

Where the ingalâ, pingalâ and the sukhmanâ arteries run, there the éabda uni tes wi th them.

8'9

One who perce ives the sabda wi·thin the limits of the human form, did not understand the meaning of surati sabda.

90

The surati êabda unites in a knot just as water merges into water.

91

49

(

Even if in a moment death occurs, the knot of the surati êabda will never break.

92

The word perceived as 'faultless' byanyone, will not then perceive it in the limits of physical vision.

93

The !iabda cannot be perceived through physi.cal vlslon, those who try to visualize, do not have the eyes for the !iabda.

94

The Creator and the Ooer of Ours, Who is seen as the a1l-Pervading One.

95

The Lord distinct from everyone, meets on1y those fewer ascetics through their asceticism.96

{

Whoever visualizes the 'fau1tless' in such a manner, frees himself from the bonds of perpetuaI returns to the earth.

97

Where the nectar trickles forth, in the happy abode of the sukhmanâ, he plays in the bliss.

98

In the sukhmanâ bliss, the surati gets absorbed, and he speaks without fear.

99

Everybody comprehends the external experience, none comprehend the paracâ .

100

Why is there apprehension for the divine experience? without himself being revealed of it~ who can grasp the divine secret?

101

Where the tide of happiness is at its height, there amidst the Brahm he gets absorbed.

102

,

(

50

One's mind gets absorbed in his ovn inner MOSt self, then, the pain to be cast again in the womb does not arise.

103

In his inner Most self, he sees his own self, he, then, attains immortality existing.

104

What can 1 talk §Pout the excellent one's inner self! Anything 1 utter'Puts my mind to shame.

105

...

•

The alert eyes wi Il di scover 'the jewe1, the ignorant will not bring faith.

106

If the diamond is tied in a knot, what does it matter, if the ignorant believes or not?

107

Without having heard, 1 related what experienced, 1 simplified and exp1ained to you.

108

l

personally

The way 1 attained, so 1 explained, before reaching, 1 did not believe in its reality.

109

Whoever wenders through the three worlds, without reciting One Name will never attain salvation.

110

The name of the Lord is enchanting and affectionate, it is the boat to cross the great ocean.

III

Whoever practices the vay 1 explained, will recite 'thou' 'thou' in one flov.

112

Day and night if one recites 'thou alone', viII inevitably traverse the great ocean.

113

51

(

Whoever recites the Name of the Lord, that slave will attain the Lord himself.

114

Life is squandered in vain, without reciting the Name, Contemplation makes his life worthwhile.

115

He who eliminates pride whilst meditating on the Name, eliminates for himself accounting for his actions of the three ages. 116 AlI those who have contemplated, and are contemplating, even if they be of low-caste will be amongst the elevated. 117

(

(

In the §!! IYS!, Tretâ ~, Dvip!ra ~, And ln tne-Iourth the Kali ~, 1 say, my brothers.

118

The ascetics who are 1iberated or will be liberated, will have done by e11minating pride and praying to the Reality.

119

The Lord has innumerable Names, whoever forsakes slander and recollects, is a rea1 saint.

120

The Ayam - ~i9am , the Purina , the QUi'!n, and Nânak also exto1s the 9 ory of the Lord.

121

The Lord alone knows his ovn essence, the wisdom of Reality is perceived by none.

122

In a fraction of a second, He creates the universe, and in a fraction absorbs the universe 8gain.

123

The wisdom of the Reality can never be written, listen, 0 believers, 01 my brothers.

124

• 52 Eliminate aIl other doubts trom the self, and engrave just One Name within.

125

While meditating do not drift in other thoughts, restraining deviation, meditate on the Name firmly.

126

Meditating on the Name, attains the Named, annihilating the self replaces the self.

127

In yourself, you will hold the all-Pervading One, the body, the universe will be overwhelmed.

128

The 'attributeless' has many attributes, if you comprehend and see, one supercedes the other.

129

The formless Reality t~es a form and descends, This is liked, by the loyers of the Lord.

130

Innumerable eras and days passed, In these 4 souls vere liberated, who overcame ignorance.

131

Extolling his g1ory, One can never exhaust it.

132

In the ~ ~, he manifested into four forms, four saInts reached ~he heights.

133

Listen, 0 my brothers, Pralhâd the redeemer of five crores, vas of this era who attained liberation.

134

In the Tretâ, he manifested into three forms, Harischandra vas the true one to attain the heights.

135

53

(

(

136

In the Kali ~ he has taken the form of a Naklanki, of all ~soUIS, he is the sole ruler.

137

One day he will play a trick, and will put an end to all deceit and fraud in the world.

138

When ImAm Mahdt extends his protection, twelve crores and innumerable souls will then attain liberation.

139

The attributes of the attribute1ess are too heavy, He is the sole enacter of his ovn drame.

140

Shams Dariyâ, searches the river, and preaches in the form of a derwish.

141

The manner various people comprehend, he explains to them in a manner comprehensible to them. 142

v (

In the Dvâpara, he manifested into two forms, the redeemer of nine crQres Pândava recognised him.

Shams, the master, discloses the secret, only the true believers attain the Lord.

143

Whatever has happened, is happening and will continue to happen, the world worship the 'gurnar' alone.

144

This is why l related about Him, for whoever remains with the Lord.

145

They will all witness the Omnipresence of Ali, whoever searches the Brahm Gyan .

146

54

He will develop firm conviction, he who engrosses in attaining the knowledge of the Divine.

147

Whoever studies, understands and meditates on the Name, that believer attains paradise. 148 This is the essence of the true path, Shams Dariya has related and explained.

149

May the Lord fulfill everyone's desire, prays the person who related to the people the 'knowledge of the divine'.

150

!

;

55

Chapter !!! Brahm Prakash, An Analysis section



Background to the Tantric Tradition

The two ginâns, the

Brahm Prakâsh

and the Bujh Niranjan
of the Attributeless Oeity>

that we mentioned in the previous chapter deal with a similar theme which is highly mystical

(

KhOjâs view spiritual include

both these progress

on

description of

and spiritual in nature.

ginâns as

directives for

the spiritual

path.

mystical 'stages'

contain instructions on how to attain

The

a murid's

These

ginâns

and 'states'

and

the~.

But, while the Bujh Niranjan is composed in a ,Oft vein, dealing with mystical stages and

experience similar to those

contained in ,Oft manuals, the Brahm PrakâSh, appears to find its basis in

an indigenous Indian religious

Tantric tradition. mystical stages dealt with in

(

.would

be

approaches

1

p~enomenon,

The technical terms which

in the

Brahm Prakâsh

interesting

the Brahm

to draw

Prakâsh

parallels

and

describe the

are similar

the Tantric esoteric teachings.

to those

Although, it

betveen

the Bujh

the

the

Niranjan

two

56

chiefly because of their representing a single tradition, our "

study focusses on the Brahm prakâsh itself, one of the reason being,

a recent

study on

the Bujh

Niranjan questions

Ismi
Prakâsh vould be

available

in

the corpus

contemplation has been consistent

If this is true, then

2

the,only other in

which

long composition

the mystical

important,

the

ginâns in

several other

the corpus.

3

A

of

and in a

key Tantric

basis of the Brahm Prakâsh are

vhich form the

theme

dealt with in an elaborated

manner. More

the

terms

found used in

study of

the Brahm

Prakâsh will, therefore, not only aid in obtaining an overall understanding of what the Tantric but will

also determine

expression in

the Nizârî

to what

terms imp!y in the ginâns, extent Tantrism

has found

system of thought

Ismâ~îlî

in the

Indian Sub-continent.

Our aim

in this chapter

examine the

is, therefore, to

nature of the relation-ship between the Tantric tradition and the ginân

tradition of the

intention is not will

be

to dea! in

limi ted

to

detai~

examining

.

,)

those

appear to

find similar

It is

essential

to

Tantric

background,

Prakâsh to exp~ess

as the

of them, but

aspects

take into key

However, our

vith elther

tradition which gin'ns.

,

Nizârt 1 smâ ( !! t s.

terms

of

Tantric

expressions in

the

consideration

the

used in

the

mystical stages and experience

Brahm

appear to

be a part of the elaborated Yoga discipline, namely the

Yoga

of

the

Tantric tradition.

Hence,

ve

will

Ha~ha

discuss

57

primarily the basis,

we

e~perience

Yoga framework.

Ha~ha

shall is

attempt

to

expressed in the

Brahm Prakâsh.

First,

Then on

explain

the

how

Ha~ha

the

mystical

ginâns, specifically

however, a short note

Yoga

in the

on the Tantric

tradition is appropriate.

Tantrism - a pan Indian phenomenon of' extreme complexity i5 essentially appears

a Yoga

that this

northern India at its Buddhistic

discipline .·

Yoga tradition

had

least from the lOth

form and

later in

its

been popularized

form

Nâth Yogis

of

Ha~ha

Buddhism.' ~aivite

It

were propagators

Yoga

which

was apparent1y

counter-parts

tradition

and some

northern and

had

of

of

its

~aivite

and exponents origins

Siddhas,

its esoteric

the central parts

of the

form by

the

Both the Siddhas

through the

the

in

century, initially in

Sahajiyâ Siddhas and the Nâth-panthI YogIs. and the

It

in

Nât~

that

jargon

of sorne Mahâyâna

Yogis, the

Tantric

spread in

Indian

the

the

Sub~continent

during the medieval era. ~

These Nâth

Yogis are a1so

known as Gorakh

after the name of their foremost

Guru Gorakhnâth and also as

kânphata YogIs on account of their split ears.' dates

of Gorakhnâth

cannot be

that he may have lived between northern punjab.' that the

NâthvYo~îs,

Although the

ascertained, scholars the 9th and

l~th

agree

centuries in

It is alleged that 'it was from this period

Nâth Yogis achieved

popularity.

The

influence of

58

these

Nât~

Yogis

the Medieval among

appears to have been

era on

the emerging mystical' traditions both ~~,. ~ Hindus and the '_.' ims. Among the Hindus two ,

the

quite prof6und during

.'

:.o
.

mystical traditions namely, the Bhakti and the Sant tradition are alleged to have been

affected by the Gorakhnâth panthîs. _:1'

mai~tains

C. Vaudeville whose

chief exponent

that

the so-called

was Kabîr,

appears to

-

indebted to the Nath-panthî form of some of the Sants such as be understood

nirguQî Bhakti, be

heavily

50

Yoga that the sayings of

Guru Nânak, Nâmdev etc. can hardly

w,i thout referring to the

Nath-panthî esoter ic

vocabulary. •

Similarly, the ;;Ofîs, especially Chistiyya

and

the

compatability of This is

Shattârî

seem

to

have

of Nâth-panthîs.

marked influence of Nâth-panthî

Likewise, examining the ginâns,

\

found

the writings of some of the ;;Ofîs of the

Medieval period which show a thought in them.'

Orders,

doctrines vith those

~Ofi

eviden'ce~bY

those belonging to the ..

we find a

\

large

of

portion

Nâth-panthî esot in

titl,s

of

ic to

the ginâns Nâth

indicate that

Y

jargon.

îs.

structure

There are as

i2g!,' abadhu

The liberal

express

to

reflect

numerous references

use

of

Tantri m has~fficiently found

The ginân Brahm to

mystical

terms such

the ginân literature

terms

their

, their

terms

expression in

the Nizârî Ismâ
0

Prak sh, besides using the the

my tical

experience,

key Tantric which

itself

.)

59 suggests a connection between the

two traditions, also maltes

references to several persona 1 i t i es. as those

having rece i ved the

fol10wing

the

Prakâsh.~O

.. Personalities

~

spi rit ual

The ginân ment ions them

myst ical exper i ence

pa th

as

\

such

in

outl ined as

by hav i ng

Kabir,

the

Brahm

Guru

Nânak,

Bhartari, Gopi, Nâmdev etc., mentioned in the ginân are those belonging to the been

Sant tradi t ion who are alleged

either disciples

contact

with

of Gorakhnâth

Gorakhnâth. 11

The

or to Brahm

to have had

have come Pra kash

into

ment ions

Gorakhnâth as one who has liberated himself:

Tha t bl i 55 Gorakh at ta i ned undoubtedly, Understanding asceticism earned the reward of his austerities. 1l Besides the Brahm Prakâsh, ~

also found in a f ew other places in agi nân a t tributed to the sa me pir.

1l

There is no possibility, however,

ft

whether Shams the /~

references to Gorakhnâth are

al-Din,

ginân Brahm

Gorakhnâth

Prakâsh,

himself.

works certa inly which seems ,ti Il recen t 1y

the Nizâri

But

had the

indica te a l ink

to have begun with 5i

nce

of ascertaining

pir to whom

is attributed

anyairect

connection

simil~rities

found in

between the

their

two t radi t ions

Shams al-Oin and

the 9 inâns composed by

with

carried on

the las t author,

p

Sayyidnâ Imâm Begum, strongly reflect Tantric jargon.

Hence,

we shall' proceed to examine the Ha ~ha Yoga of the Nath-pan thi cult.

10

60 Hatha Yoga 2.! kuoc;)alint-6akti !2.9!

As

Ha~ha

ment ioned above,

Yoga

is believed

to

have

J.

d,veloped from the 7th century onwards as a kind of of f-shoot of

Mahâyâna Buddhism

which has

schools of popular devotion, The

Ha~ha

word

i

formed

5

The

of body

basic

identical in

however,


concept ion

a11 the

behind

Tantric schools.

transcendent state.

The

to be

.

Yoga The

a microëQsm, wherein a11 the sahaja

wi th

pract ices

i

5

a Yogi,

sahaja -a Supreme,

sahaja state, a Yogi

To realize

Yoga' sinee

aim of

within the body itself, since

'realized'.

sun

difficult postures

the

~aivite is to attain

is coneeived as

means the

always> assoc iated

whether Buddhist or

to be .attained

ha

'difficult

bodily exercises and

are usual1y

The

wo~ds,

14

; their union is called

word signifies,

extremely strenuous

most

bothVedântic and Buddhistic. of two

and tha, the moon Yoga.

gradually impregnated

maintains, is the human body

spiritual truth is state, therefore,

primar i ly requi res an understanding of the human, body and i t s esoteric aspects. 1

Secondlya sâdhanâ as an aid in

the' realization' of the sâdhanâ,

sahaja within the human

body.

Through

a Yogi is said to attain the sahaja state, which

is equated vith the attainment of bodily immortality.l'

As the

Nâth-panthî Yogis

are Saivites,-

their form

,J~ Ir'

of

61 Ha~ha

i

Yoga

~akti,

5

characteri zed

the female

by the

fe{Jlale pr inc i pIe, whereas the ~iva,

is vieW'ed

aimed at 'sahaja'

is W'orshipped as

for t(em.

The

union of

Nâth-panthî sâdhanâ

Siva and

Basing themselves

frame-work, the Nâth

the active

male pr inciple, represen ted by

as inactive.

realizing the

to

Divinity ~iva.l' In

energy of the Supreme

of Ha~ha Yoga, Sakti

this form

prominence attached

Sakti, which

is is

on the general Tantric

Yogis maintain that the union

is to be

realized within the body itself.

In order

the kUQQalin i

emphasi 5 on ~akti. Ha~ha

lt

to realize this

i s pointed

Yoga in

whole body

i

5

con5ciou~nes5,

which the actua lly

and truly

Yoga.

'spell'

for its success. 1

mantra

play a

vi ta l

form the basis of

meru-daQQa

is

un i ted W' i th

that part ~akti of

the Lord

The essential feature

'

che1p of

However,

role in of the

Ha~ha

Accordingly,

considered

identified with

creative sustaining

requires the

peculiar 'geography'

(

kUQQalini

Yoga lays

of the of

i.e.~iva.l.· For this reason Hatha Yoga is also

that it

spinal cord

Ha~ha

power,

out that

called kUQQalinî-sakti Yoga i5

merging, the

are

the

'word' or

as the kUQ9alini and the

the

human

body and

body i tsel f ,

i ts esoter ic

the

aspects

Yoga both in theory and practice. H

the main

axis of

ca~led ~-daQ9a

as

a mantra,

of this

pivot

of

super- imposed

the human


a

body is

the

vith Mount-Meru,

universe>. ser les

Along of

the

chakras

J

62

in the shape of popularly considered to as centres

of vital

lot uses.

be six in aIl.

forces.

Hence

These chakras are They are regarded

21

they become

objects of

concentration in themselves, and in them are to be discovered the

mysteries

of

Each

c reat i on.

chakra

is

in

i tself

con(ei'Y.ed as a state of 'bliss' or of ecstatic experience.

Thus, the

fi rst chak ra

mOlâdhâra-chakra, meru-daQQ.a,

si tuated

vhich i5

whilst the sixth

and the

lowest of

at

extreme

between

the the

end

anus and

called the âjnâ-chakra i5

a11 i s

the

the

of

the

ger'li taIs;

situated between

the eyebrows; above it stands a cavity within the skull. top of the skull i5 occupied petalled

chakra,

gagana-maQQala

also

i5 also

The

by the sahasrâra - the thousand

known

as

gagana-maQQala.

called

the 'moon',

This

22

since

it is

a

receptacle of ambrosia , which oozes from its pericap. It is

place of Param-~iva

conceived as the dwelling

Supreme Being. Yogt, as

To reach the gagana-maQ9ala

the attainment

of thi 5 stage

is the goal of a

is equated

at tainment of sahaja and bodilY immortali ty.

or the

wi th the

2 3

\.

Furthermore, the human body is of n'clts breaths.

2 '

i~rtant

Out role

said to contain thousands

which are essent ially channels

of these, three in the

Ha~ha

nâ9ts in particular

Yoga.

The iQâ

pingalâ are si tuated

on the left and the right

meru-daQQa.

pUigalA,

19' and

through

of vi tal play an

or ingalâ

and

sides of the

which the 'two

main

63

breaths are moving, are identified the

'lIIoon' and as the Gangâ and the Yamunâ ri vers

respectively.25

Susumnâ

or Sukhmanâ,

deemed the most important. ,':'-ord

as the 'sun' and

prop~~rly as

or more

channel

situated within

extend from the

ident i f ied

the i'rlner the

mOlâdhâra,

meru-daQQa to the the skull.

It i s

vacumm below the hole of

triveot.

who bathes at

It

is said

to

po int of the

the sahasrâra in

sukhmanâ are sa id to have and to meet finally in the

The confluence of these

is known as

most extremely , narrow

that i s, the lowest

their source in the lowest chakra sahasrâra.

channel is

vi th the spinal

spinal cord. /

1 Çiâ, pi ngalâ and the

2 •

the third

three nâÇois in the skull

rt is claimed by the

Yogis that "he

that sacred confluence reaches

to the highest

place and attains

27

mok~a

."Za

In this peculiar geography of the Hatha Yoga,

the cosmic

energy, considered the vital energy, is conceived as a female one;

snake, the kUQ9alini, the coiled is said to

ca Il ed beca use she

remain coiled in the lowest chakra,

in a

dormant state. z,

the

techn ique

of

kUQ9alint-§akti and

The

various exercises

Hatha Yoga

a im

at forcing her

daQÇia through the central channel

this highest

at

where she is pertaining to

waking

up

upwards along

point, the

to reach the

the

the meru

known as sukhmanâ.

progress upwards, the kUQ9al in! a ims Reaching to

50

In her

sa~asrâra.

kUQ9alint unites

with

(

J

64 Param-Siva 1 in the gagana-maQ9ala. Yogt are rewarded and he

Here,

the' efforts of the

: he is able to drink

attains mahlsOkha

the ambrosia juice,

or 'supreme

bliss' which

is the

supreme sahaja state.'·

Hovever, the

act i vat i on of

the k uQ9ali ni,

requi res the nov of UlgalA and that

they unite

vith

pi "galâ in one di rect ion,

the sulehmanâ

regulation of the breath,

according

a mantra for its sidhanâ.

A

According to C.

part icular energy.

each

II

of

to the Nâth Yogis needs 'spell" or a 'word'.

mantras reproduce

express.

The repetition

or spells are

'germ-syllables' or alesara, which

is

endoved

When repeated outwardly

the bija

50

This

the triveçi.

Vaudeville, the Yogic mantras

syllables',

j'pa as merely

in

mantra is a

composed of phonemes called bija, 'potent

essent ia lly

the mysterious

of this mantra is

a repetition is

vith

a

and inwardly,

state that

they

o

called j,lli. But

not fruitful except

as a beginner' s exerc i se.

The "jApa becomes méaningful smaraoa or

The NAths pay

hail-sa 1 which

j'pa 32. The

intention

behind

Hence

Nlth Yogis.

to

them i s

ajâpajâpa

is

the to

per f ect curb

the

concentration .on the mantra

the mantra itself is

Once the jâpa

called ajâpajâpa

special respect: to the sacred

according

vandering mind and achieve total itself.

i t is inter iorized as

sumiran, memorization, vhich is

or silent jâpa. syllable

when

the chief focus

of the

becomes ajâpajlpa, the activation

65

(

of the kUQQalinî begins.

The kUQQalinî

is lifted through

Smaral)8 of

the mantra

from the place where she lies coiled up in the .mQlidhâra, the lowest base.

The aim

sahasrâra.

But to

reach

chakras are involved. super - imposed on path of the

make the

the

kUQ4alinî reach

hi ghest state,

the

meru-daQ9a.

the meru-daQ"a. Thus,

the sukhmanâ

var i ous

they all lie

, the

experience or

eestasy, and

fixation on

secures reactions which

are interpreted in terms

of

attained.

progress

At

33

individual soul drinks the nectar

of the

of real i ty,

type the

in the

on her way

central channel

symbol i z i es a

Each chakra

s'piritual

the

These chakras, as mentioned above, are

kUQ9alinî as she passes through them

upwards through

specifie

is to

each

a

eac·h

of degrees ehakra,

the

of the crescent moon which

oozes from the pericap of the sahasrâra.

Ha~ha

Yoga or kUQ4alini-sakti Yoga

is eharacterized by a persistent

effort directed both tovard

The whole process of

, inwardness'

and' upwardness' • I f

Theref9re 1

in

Ha~ha

Yoga

emphasis is laid both on strenuous bodily exercises
âsana,

bandha -appropriate

control methods>

which aim

vithin

and

the body

at

at holding

control and ultimately The!!!!!!. is

conceived

postures

a11 the

breathing techniques.

maintain that the reversaI of

(

gestures,

and

vi tal vinds The

Yogis

the breathing process leads to

to the paralysing of as the controller of

- The

the mind . the senses.

66

!!E, therefore, is considered to

be the greatest obstacle in

the Yogi' s, progress toward attaining liberation. control of

the mind,

min?"- unmani, the The unmana

which the Yogts

final victory

stage, which

over his

attainment of the sahaja by

call "killing

Yogi is said to reach

or unmani

proper breathing

enemy, the state.~·

of the

the highest state.

results from

the Yogi's

man co-incides

with the

-.s--

And this is ta be attained

techniques.

mantra plays a significant role

Through the

Hence

repetition of

the

Ha~ha

Yoga

in the suceess of

pract ices.

Having outlined the basic an important exper ience exper ience.

aspect remains actualized

and

frame-work of the to be what

considered. is

This ve shall examine below

the

Ha~ha

How

nature

Yoga, is the

of

the

in the light of the

ginân vorks, chiefly focussing on the Brahm Prakâsh.

67

Notes to Chapter III Section lThe Tantric tradition is followed by certain so-called left-hand Hindus and Buddhists. This tradition is believed to have spread during the medieval era in the Indian Sub-continent. For details see below. lAli Asani, "Bujh

~iranjan.

:lThe following is a short list of ginâns found to have been composed wi thin the Tantric f rame-vork: AvadhOta, ; Tame japajo din raat ke, ; Sakht ~ahâpad keri VIt, <0 friend! few comprehend the signlhcance of that stage>; Si Barfi, ; Ajampiya tano hardam dhariye Chy n, ; Ajam~iya .j.!I2! ~fna 9haf mahe, ; l..2.9..!. so jfi9â ~ i2s1, . Besides these, there are numerous allusions to Tantric terms in the ginân corpus. These ginâns are attributed to the authorship of various dâ<îs and p!rs beginning with compos i t ions att ri buted to Shams a l-Dîn unt i l the use of Tantric vocabulary is found in the works attributed to the last of composers, Sayyidn8 Imâm Begum after whom the ~in8n corpus became frozen. For translations of the above-mentloned ginâns see, Gulam Ali Allana, Ginans of the Ismaili Pirs, ; and "Some Specimen of Satpanth Literature-The Garbi Songs, " translated by Vali Mohamad N. Huda in Collectaneil l <1948>, 55-85. ·5. A. Rizvi, Alakhbâni or Rushd Nâmâ,of Shaykh Abd ulQuddus Gan90hi, in Hindi,
·One of the characteristic features of the Gorakh Nâth Yogis is the practise of having the cartilege of their ears split. At the time of initiation, as it is alleged' to be still jn practise, the ear of a novice is split for the insertion of huge ear-rings. It is maintained by the Nâth Yogts that the ears contain a net-work of niQts connecting them vith the inner organs of perception. The splitting of the ear is believed to open a mystical channel in order to sssist in the development of Yogîc powers. See, S.A. Rizvi, The History of Sufism i!l India, , 332.

68 'C. Vaudeville, Rabir, 86-87. ·Ibid., 120. 'Aziz Ahmad, Studies in Islamic Culture in the Indian Environment, . 137-3~ l·See our translation of the Brahm prakâsh abbve, particularly verses 41-58. Henceforth the translation will be referred to as BP. 11 See art icles on "Gorakhnâth", "Rabi r" , in B. Walker, Hindu World, 2 vols.

"Nânak" etc.,

1ZBP., verse No.57. llTwo other references are found in the giï~n "Hans Hansal i ni varta, in Pi r Shams ~ Grantho, pub lshed by Mukhî Lâljî Devrâj, n.d.ft

14C. Vaudeville, Kabir, 122. 15G.W.Briggs, Gorakhnâth and the Rânphata , 274.

Yogis,

1 'Co Vaudeville, "Kabir and Interior Religion," History of Religions, Vol.3 II <1964>, 194.

l'S . .\. Rizvi, History of Sufism, 334. 1

aG. W. Briggs, Gorakhnâ th, 274.

l'Ibid. 20e. Vaudeville, Rabîr, 130. 21The six centres or chakr~s are: mOlâdhâra ; svadhist ana ; manîkpOraka ; anâhata ; viéuddha and âj~â . The chakras or otuses are chief characteristic element of ~a~ha Yoga. A few of these are referred to in the ginâns as welle For further details see M. Basu, Tantras, ~ General St udy, , 125-127. Z2C. Vaudeville,

Kab~r,

130.

Z3Ibid. Z·G.WBri9gs, GorakhnAth, 308. ZIC. Vaudeville, Kabtr, 131.

69

H1bid. 2 '1 bide 21

Ibid.

2'Ibid., 131-32. UIbid., 129. llIbid. 32C. Vaudeville explains "The migratory bird ham-sa, in Vedic tradition, symbolizes the Supreme Being. In the Tant~ic Saiva tradition, it represents Siva. But it also, designates the indi v idual soul <~i va> espec i811y in i ta pur i f ied st-ate, when it merges into t e Universa1 soul, paramham-sa.".Kablr, 129. For details also see, G.W. Briggs, Gorakhnith, 307. 33G.W. Brig9s, GorakhnAth, 322. ~

3·C. Vaudeville, Kabtr, 132. lS1bid.

j Cl

70

Section Tantric Il...nt apecificallx

~

<~

!n

the ginlns,

the Braha Prat.sh

In the last section ve surveyed the chief characteristic fea tures of Ha ~ha maintained

Yoga of the Tantric t radi t ion,

that the

key technical

esoteric

tradition appear

similar to

Prakâsh.

also maintained that these

vas

It

terms of

found in the

tho~~

for i t was f this

ginân Brahm

key terms occur

prominently in the entire ginân corpus, which goes to suggèst that Tantrism,- seems to have

found expression in

Ismâ
opens

vith

a

a large extent.

look

at

the

the Nizârî

This section,

basic

concept;on\

outlined in the mystical category of the ginâns, of which the\ /'

c

Brahm

Prakâsh

is seen

proceeds to examine

Brahm Prakâsh upon the

ginâns broadly

major composition.

these conceptions vithin the

seems to

Ha~ha

ln our

a

As we proceed, our

Yoga.

Ha~ha

as

1t

context of

study will reveal

super-impose a

Shi< t form

then

that the ,

of Islam

Yoga frame-vork of fhe Tantric tradition.

discussion on

in chapter

the nature

one above,

falling under

and the "structure of

we classified

five categories.

the ginâns

It vas

as

maintained

;

71

that amongst these, the esoteric aspect of Satpanth or Nizâri Ismâ
mysticQ1

category

under the fifth category of ginâns.

The

underlying this category of ginâns, interior and

personalized form

t~

individual murid and vision i.e. union with bringing oneself

G~d.l

,

essential

is the

feature

pevelopme~t

of relation-ship

Lord in order to

termed as

of an

betveen an

attain the divine


within this pattern

of harmony

vith God>.

This is exemplified in the Ismâ1îli system by the emphasis on between the spiritual

and the spiritual

reality of the Imâm, who, as

above, stands 1

~

the relation-ship

murid.

1

reality of

ve have seen an Ismâ c tH

in fundamental relation-ship with

The culmination

a murid

of this relation-ship is

se en as a

1.

spiritual union betveen the inner reality

of a murîd and the

inner reality of the Imâm i.e. union vith God.

The expressions

mystical a't

ginâns

are,

var i ous levels of a

between a murîd and the Imm.

therefore, ,

This category of ginâns may be

guides leading towards the

path and containing instructions on which are expressions

primarily

spi ri t ual relat ion-ship

further classified into three sub-groups: are seen as

l

those ginâns which mystical or esoteric

how to attain it; ginans

of mystical experience arising

out of

j

72

the establishment those ginâns

a spiritual relation-ship; and, finqlly,

~f

which in popular

devotional literature

of the

Indien Sub-continent are termed as 'lamentations'

ûârî>

and ,'pleas' of an individual murîd for the a of the vision of the Lord.(

We

ar,e \ere

\

speciUcally

concerned

sub-group of ginâns which basically of mystical

experience.

'stages' and 'states' spiritual journey.

They

the

which a murid would

various

into the

a short ginân from type of

therefore, act

as guides

'" , The followlng

the corpus offer us

relation-ship to

rny~tical\\

experience on the

leading a murid to tread on the esoteric path. verses of

'\t

. \ realizatio~

focus on the

desc~e

These ginâns,

the

with

a glimpse

be cultivated

between a

murid and the Lord:

Pir Sadr al-Dîn says, Know that the Lord is ever-present; the eternal status can be achieved, if you encounter the nOr within ••. the daréan can be attained through when you search for the 'Attributed One'.'

,the~vigil,

'.

This type of references to the path are found in various -places in the ginân corpus.' a major

composition of this

esoteric patn contains

However, the Brahm category not only

implied throughout the

detailed

~

instructions

about

Pra~âsh,

outlines the

ginân corpus how

to

as

but also

follow

it.

Hence, we shall focus mainly on , the Brahm Prakâsh.' It is in

\

1

the discussion

of the esote r le

Prakâsh

va rious

-

the

path described in

mys t ical

stages and

the Brahm

the

resul t i ng

,

ecstatic experience due

to the establishment of

relation-ship between a

murîd and the Lord

a spiritual

- that reference

,

te the Tantrie

tradition becomes inevitable.

such as Uigalâ,

et~.

pingalâ, sukhmanâ

1

key terms

The

used in

the text to

...

Ç>

ex pe rie n ce,

desc r ibe

the mystical

oceupy a

significant place in the

,."..

Tantrie primarily Prakâsh

Our'-- purpose

tradition. to

.

outline

have seen

above,

Hat ha Yoga theory

of the

in

the

the underlying

pages

theme

of

below the

is

Brahm

The latter portion i5 devoted to demonst rating the

mystical path outlined in the have

we

a~

these ésoteric

Brahm Prakâsh to determine how

terrns employed

in the

ginân and

what

meaning have they been eventually given in the text.

As the

title of the

ginân suggests, the

deals wi th a myst ical aspec t know1edge vision

of the

by an

di vine

cefllt:ral idea

The attainment

attempts

of

Prakâsh seems to

to explain

acquired by an individual and thereby

how

divine

mok~.

order ·to attain

on which the Brahm

The text

based.

concerned wi th the III umina t ive

Lord.

individua} in

Brahm Prakâsh

is

the

have been

this vision

is

seek..s to guide a murid

",

from

stage

absorption self-heod

(

to

stage of

in the

as

experience

unfathomable depths

te experience

Brahat Porakâsh

mystical c _

the divine.

is on the mystical

of

to

eventual

one's own

The

emphas i s of

prac'tise of" the

a means to attaining the vision

inner the

sat éabda

of the Lord.

'1.

j

..., Î

i

74

The ginân deals sat

The

~abda.

the divine

at length

is

sat

properties of the

presented

as

being

It Fs transcendent in

transcendent and i that it stretches beyon

both

the sense

time and space and is thu5 formless,

not perceived by the power of human intellect.

As it states:

T imeless sabda i s where there i 5 no bondage of t ime, day and night, surati is absorbed\ in it. The unfathomable ~abda, who can flnd its limit? The sabda is boundless, who can estimate its depth? ... BP 82,86.

At

the same

every level of

time, the

sat

is all-Pervading

~abda

existence; in particular all

at

the ontological

stages of the self are viewed as being overwhelmed by the sat sabda.

Hence,in

order

transcendence and the maintains that through

for

murid

a

to

immanence of the sat

the self must be

contemplation.

experience ~abda,

the ginân sat sabda

submerged in the

Consequently

it

the

res'ults

i~

the

attainment 'of salvation.

l ncomprehens ible ~abda held through medi ta t i on, 'easily' the burden of salvation is resolved. • •• BP 80.

In other words, ,focus, the centre

the sat sabda itself

forms the ultimate

around which a murîd's

inner energies are

this reason,'the sumiran

of

,,#

organised. the sat

For

~abda fprms

a significant

prâ~tiQ~" whiéh

seems to

75

underlie the Brahm Prakâsh.

~Ofîs

dhikr of ism â
bâtini self

whic~

Sumiran of

is a means shown in the Brahm

a murîd

in order

is initiated

to experience

one's own self-hood.

Focussing on

discusses

how thl

at length

develops a stage of

murid's inner

depths

experience the divine. shown

as leading

relation-ship

a

between

the divine

one's

sumiran

him from

stage to

eventual absorption own

inner

self

Hence, it is the sat murid towards himself

within

practise of

self and leads

of

into developing

this fundamental idea, it

mystical

mystical experience to

unfathomable

the sat sabda or the

the

and

the

in the hood

~abda

to

which i5

establishment of Lord

and

a

which

culminates in the realization of the expef+ence of union with the Lord.

As mentioned above, in Satpanth or Nizârî Ismâ<îlism the relation-ship between a murîd and

the Lord i5

an

relation-ship between

establishment of

inner reality of We

shall,

a spiritual

a murîd and the inner reality

therefore,

see

characterizes this aspect.

• (

below

how

the

exe~plified

as the

of the Imâm. Brahm

prakâsh

A verse in the ginân 5ays:

Reflect on the sat sabda, utter pîrshâh frequentlr ••• • •• BP 2.

l

J

J

76

The

ptrshâh appears

~abda,

entire ginân

corpus.

as a

dhikr word

Numerous references

ginâns where the ptrs give the

are found

the

in the

jâpa of pirshâh to the

new convert,.1

Pirshâh literally stands

shâh

Therefore,

.

in almost

for

~

pîrshâh would ,be

and

equivalent

to

gqr..nar. '

In Nizâri epithet

Ismâ(îlism, the ( Al î,

referring to

Ismâ(ilîs. lD

Since

< Al

t*

institution of

lmâmah in

then

aIl the

refer to

context

the

allusion

necessarily refer the Imâm.

word pirshâh

the first

is

Imâm

considered

essence, the

pîrshâh

to the relation-ship

as an

of the

Nizârî

represent

to

word pirshâh,

Nizârî Ismâ<îlî to

is seen

Imâms.

in

the

11

would

Taken

ginâns

between a

the

in must

murid and

Hence when the ginân states:

Reflect on the sat sabda utter pirshâh frequently .••

.

• •• BP 2 •

It implies that as a murid is the Name of

'

meditates on the given word which

the Lord, he, ,at the height

of his spiritual

maturity, attains the Named, as it states:

Meditating on the Name, attains the Named .•• ••• BP 127.

77

(

Since it is established that the sabda pîrshâh refers to the Imâm, it

follows from references to pîrshâh

that at the height of his the Named

with

spiritual progress a murîd attains

i.e. attains the inner

attainment in

reality of the

the Ismâ<îlî system signifies

God. However,

it

prakâsh establishes mystical path

in the text

remains to

the identity

be

attaining union

seen

of the

which it elaborates and

Imâm. This

how the

Brahm

sabda through

how it leads

the

a murid

toward its realization.

In order to

actualize this experience of (

one's own self-hood , the

the Lord within

{

down

the

mystical

practise states

and

.

exp1anation of the

practise

contains stages

in

descriptions the

of of

various providing

in the

ginân.

of

the sabda

off

into

esoteric path.

mystical path is structured The first and

the

10

describing

speak of due

the to

Then the ginân suddenly

the

It continues then to name

verses

The

in a curious

resulting ecstasy

uselessness

so-called ascetic practises which are sabda.

form

murîd treading on the

intense concentration on the sabda. breaks

Brahm Prakâsh 1ays

#1

instructions to a

manner

and

the vision of

of

various

not centred on the sat

adepts who during the ages

have attained the divine bliss due to their focus on the oame t

of the Lord in contemplation. path begins again

The discussion of the mystical

abruptly from verse no.

61 and. culminates

-, j'

,

(

,

1

~

-1

•

t

1

78

in discussing

the resulting ecstasy

experience of

the divine within

Excluding the

intermediate verses i.e.

gets a fair

and realization

one's own

of the

inner self-hood.

verse Il to

out1ine of the mystical path

60, one

illustrated in the

Brahme Prakâsh.

Our concern here i5 to focus

on the mystical path as it

has been il1ustrated in the Brahm Prakâsh.

As we proceed, we

shall see severai technical esoteric terms which describe the mystical

path

similar

and

the experience.

esoteric terms

corpus, its meaning to obtain a various

Yoga

clear idea of what is the

i5

theory

terms

of

incorporates

terms of

path will,

ginâns

esoteric vocabulary of

the

Ha~ha

tradition,

It appears that

vocabulary to

the

demo~strate

Ha~ha

key

technical terms

to

the

the ginân

explain its

mystical

those of

the

Ha~ha

The following illustration of

Yoga ,

these

reference

principîes similar to

conform to

It is important

significance of these

mystical

inevitable.

therefore,

the

this

Yoga of the Tantric tradition. the

ginâns in

to

As

the Tantric

a similar

reference

path.

in the

part of the

Tantric Yoga becomes

Path in

in severa1

is, however not clear.

technical

voc~bulary

is found

Aithough

have

to

th~ory

what extent and what

the

meaning

li

been

given in

the

Brahm

~Prakâsh.ll'

Demonstratin~

the

~rahm

,-'

the mysticai path,rthe beginning verses of

Prakâsh state:

79

The sat sabda i5 our guru , The world does not recognize it. Reflect on the sat sabda, Utter pîrshâh frequently. Meditate through the tongue firSt, recite pîrshâh pîrshâh day and night. '1

~

For three months it stays upon the tongue, then gets absorbed in what is named as Brahm ••. ••• BP 1,2,3,4.

The

tone

exhortation. ,

of

these

It

says

first

that

for anything

which

the

few sat

verses sabda

communicates

is

that

is

our

a vision

glimpse of reality is considered the task of a guru. guru is the only path towards

guide who can lead a murîd

the.reàlization, the

of guru

or

a

Since a

on the mystical

focus should be

the guru

i.e. the sat sabda itself. This path, it maintains, should be initiated through the sabda.

dhyân focussed

Therefore, sumiran

signifiSfnt practise

of the

of the

absolutely on

sabda forms

mystical path.

the most

Indicating the

method by which the sabda should be practised, the ginân says that

the practise

repetition

through

of

the sabda

the

is

tongue. The

primarily a verbal

conscious

repetition

is

interpreted as a breath upon breath technique.

Such an

allusion to

the practise

of sabda

stated in a ginân from the corpus which says:

(

Through every breath meditate on the ~ of pirshâh, meditate constan~ •• 13

i

is clearly

,.,

80

After

the

éabda

is

repeated

constantly

it

becomes

interna1ized, i.e. it i5 no longer a con5cious repetition but a sub-conscious êabda.

The

proces5, when every breath

internalization of the

ajlpajlpa or

silent repetition.

contemplates the

âabda is referred One of

the verses

to as in the

corpus states:

OThee! Hold every breath of meditation through ajâpajâ~, Ho1d every brea~ in meditation Othee! Control the mind through meditation, focussing on the Satgur ••. 1f The

objective behind

through every control

the

i~ernalized,

the

constant

breath i5 to focus mind

from

practise of

on the sabda,

deviating.

Once

the

the

sabda

which would dhyân

is

it goe5 down to the heart, as the Brahm prakâsh

states:

...

Now for six month5, meditation is centred in the 'heart', every breath repeatedly contemplating just One,Name. One day greets with astonishment, 'ea5i1y' the meditation ~eaches the 'nave1'. For nine months the Name is held, ~ in the same state of meditation and in the same abode of happiness. \

\

From the 'wèst' it begins to rise upwards towards the 'sky', -, reaching there witnesses an incomQrehensiale show •.. ••• BP 61,62, 63,64. The following

verS~5

of the Brahftt ,Prakâsh say that after

the sabda i5 meditated upon

verbally, which would take three

81

months of practise,

it leads a murid to the

,the dhyân is internalized and éabda, is months.

second stage as

reaches the heart. l l

held through ajâpajâpa,

Here the

i.e. silent jâpa

for six

And from the heart it goes down to the nâbhi

where the

dhyân stays for

a period

of nine months.

It is

from nâbhi that the dhyân rises from the 'west' ta go towards the

'sky'.

In other

words,

Prakâsh suggests is that of

the

method which

the

Brahm

'inwardness' and 'upwardness' of

the dhyân.

The

mystical

appear similar

(

stages

described in

to the chakras,

the

which as

Brahm

Prakâsh

intimated earlier,

play a significant role in esoteric" aspect of thè human body according to

the Haçha

peculiar,geography

Yoga theory.

of the body, the

body is the spinal column known

To reiterate, main axis of

in the

the human

as meru-daQça upon which are

super-imposed a series of chakras, the lowest and the highest chakra being located

on the extreme ends

Thus, the heart, the navel in the ginân

or anâhata, nâbhi etc.,'mentioned

are various centres in the human

Yoga practise, point of the

the aim

of a

with attainment

Yogi is

R~aching

meru-daQça.

Yogi is said to achieve the

which

of the meru-daQça.

coôsidered stagès of progress achieved.

l '

to reach

to this

In the

the highest

highest stage, a

sahaja- astate which is equated

of bodily immortality.

are super-imposed

body.

on the

The

various chaKras

merU-daQg8 are,

progress or indicators of

therefore, the level of~

\

,., \ \

i

.

82

In

the Tantric

Yoga system

the 8im

of a

Yogi is

to

attain sahaja. The vital urge of a Yogt to realize the sShaja is personified in lies

coiled

the symbol of a

up at

the

base

kUQQalint ia viewed as the within the human is actualized.

of

kUQ9alin!, 'serpent' that the spinal

The

personification of energy

body through which the The

column.

mystical experience

aim of a Yogi in the

Tantric system is,

therefore to raise the kUQQalinî from the place where it lies in a

dormant state.

begins to

Once it

is aroused from its

climb the ladder of

the chakras finally

the highest chakra and attain ~he

Yoga

Ha~ha

is

to

persistent effort both to

at~ain

It

of a

the

Yogt is

experience

o~

the

characterized by

a

'inwardness' and 'upwardness'

towar~s

sahaja. 11

appears

functioning of the basis of ,1

to reach

sahaja. 17 The whole process of

actualize

The practise

"kuQQalint.

sleep, it

that

the

under-lying

principle

the kUQQalint-sakti of, the

Ha~ha

the mystical path illusrated in

the

Yoga forms ~inân.

_

the allusion to the dhyân of stage to stage until it

the

For f

a murîd passing, interna11y from

r~aches

the

nâ~hi

appéars to refer to

a process similar as the one advocated in the Tantric system. The inwardness

of the

dhyân is

to wake

the

kU~9a~inî

and

force it from where it lies in a dormant state. Similarly the Brahm Prakâsh, leading a murîd on tqe sabda is internalized •..

the path, explains that as

r

83

One day greets with ashtonishment, 'easily' the meditation reaches the 'navel' ... For nine months the Name is held, in the same state of meditation and in the same abode of happiness ... . .. B? 62,63.

The

stage

nâbhi

importance where the per iod of

t ime.

or

navel

ie,

dhyân reaches and remains

The

of

therefore,

vi tal

for a longer

importance of

this mystical stage is expressed in the following manner in one of the ginâns:

OThee! Keep the mOl-lotus steady, and awaken the nâbhi-lotus, Meditate constantly ..• l ' This

~erse

mDlâdhâra, the

says

that the

lowest centre

mDl-lotus,

should be

attempt should be to awaken. the nâbhi. nâbhi i s regarded' as the centre main nâQis

ingalâ

channels of

0

also

known

kept firm,

and pingalâ with the

the central nâQi in the nâbhi.

and" the

In the Hatha Yoga the

of the human body.

vital breath meet

as

la

The two

considered ta

su~umnâ

be

1

\

or sukhmanâ

It. is main,tained by the Yogis

that the meeting of these three naçîs in the nâbhi forces the kUQQalinî 'upwards' to to eventually

experience the

highest point

of the rneru-daQga.

itself

the

concentration

(

pierce through the ladder

dhyân

divine in

remains

on the

sabda

21

unt i l is

of chakras

the sahasrâra,

Therefore, in such

t ime

absolute. Such

the

the nâbhi that an

the

intense

cc{'ncentra t ion on the sabda resul ts in un it i ng the three nâQi s namely ingalâ, pingalâ

and

~he

sukhmanâ in

the nâbhi.

This

1

84

merging,

as mentioned

above, forces

through the ladder of chakra.

As

the kuçQalinî

upwatas

the f?llowing verse of the

ginân maintains:

From the 'west' it begins to rise upwards towards the 'sky', reaching there witnesses an incomprehensible show ... .. . BP 64. No specifie reference can be found the

what

Prakâsh.

pasehim

or

paecham

only allusion

~e

in the ginâns which shows means

ln

is found: in a

the

Brahm

verse from

the

corpus:

When it rises from the nâbhi, it takes the route of the spinal column, the object is to reach the triveçî, which is the'opening in the tenth door ••• This

ve~e

through the spinal

may mean

that the

dhyân rising

west to

reach the

sky takes

column.

Thus, it

is

the

22

from the the route

spinal column

nâQhi of the

which

i5

considered the west path of the inward journey.

Seeing this reference within the 'west' refers to daQga. ascend

23

the

su~um~â,

Ha~ha

Yoga theory, the

the central route

of the meru

According to the Hatha Yoga theory the kUQgalinî can through any

of

the

three principle

ingalâ, pingalâ or the sukhmanâ. It con~idered

Higalâ and

the path -of the inward pingalâ are

said to

nâQîs,

namely

is the sukhmanâ which is journ~y.

This is becau5e

pa5S round

the meru - daQQa

85 while the sukhmanâ pierces through it and reaches the highest point.

It is

the kUQ9alini

this route in the spinal is supposed

column through which

to travel in

order to

destination which is in the gagana-maQ9a1a. to the west

route in thè.,. Brahm Prakâsh

(

the route of the route it

--kUQ9alini in

reaches the

'incomprehen~ible

show'.

,.

verses of ,...< the

•

Br~hm

like-wise alludes to

the sky,

What the akaéa

show the person experiences

Hence, reference

the sukhmanâ.

akasa, or

reach its

Ta king the west and witnesses

an

is and what type of

need elaboration.

The following

Prakâsh state:

From the 'west' it begins to ris~ upwards towards the '·sky', reaching there w i tnesses van i ncompr.ehensible show With9ut rain.where the sky·thundér~, ~ithout a visible place where one dwells. Without'clouds where it rains, where dwells"a 'person' without a human forme

,

In an awful unconstrained manner, the sky thunders, the mind sit~ at the trio place . i

There is no trumpet, yet 'there' is a melody! there is no sun, yet it is bright! There is no source ~or a river, yet there flows the Ganges! there is no inmate, yet there is a friend! ••• BP 64,65,66 69,71,72. ,' As the dhyân of a murid rises from the nâbhi, it reaches the

(,

akasa

.

Here

he

is

said

to

experience 1

inexpressibl~

show.

The

above verses of thè

various types of experiences ~hich

an ..;

ginân refer to

are manifested to a mut!d

.,

~

86

as he

progresses through

For instance,

his

and reaches

d~yân

various types of

the akasa.

sounds are heard," He hears:

the sound of a distant river; then a thunderidg; the sound of a

water-fall; then

a flute

etc. Accompanying

experience of seeing a l'ight and person.

before

But

the

the presence of a purukh or

considering

experiences signify, it

this is

what

these

is essential to know

religious

primarily what

the akasa is where the experience lS said to oceur?

In the Tantric \.

beglns 1

'"

its inward

"'

kU99alinî akasa. z , 'where

Yoga, once the kUQQalinî journey up

the

successively pierees Akaéa or

vacuum, is

according to

sukhmanâ. The

the chakra the space

ascending

and reachés abOve the

sy~tem/'

the Taftric

i5 arou5ed, it

the

throat,

limitation of

the

f'

sense i5

When a Yogi

removed.

kUQQalini reach the in a

~acuum

as akssa,

has succeeded in

~ighest point, he i5

surraunding the'brain and the

th,

said toYéxperien~e spinal cotd known

25

Associated

with

var ious experiences di f ferent

awakeni~g

the

which are

the

kUQQalini

Yogi in

the

Ha~ha

are

others, .L~y

ot awareReS9 as- each chakra irs

stages

for a

of

man i fe5ted,' among

Among the va.rious reactions whioo success

ma~ing

pierc~,

are tak\n as inçiicators of t~eory

Yoga

are

qertain

"

sounds and colors.

f

2'

..-

Soundç'.call~d

in the

body and is supposed

sounds

are

heard

.

in

the

n!9.!

is sa id to ,be latent

'çO be hea~rd various

wi thi~. "Di,f't'erent

cent~,és,

•

1

o;,~~~as , ,

F,' ... .,..;~

-\';.! .. ~,.~

87 1 , .., ,

super-imposed upon through them in vibration

the meru-daQ9a,

as the

order to reaeh the highest

v~

in, its highest

and

'

the

speak of

experienced by a The

saduna.

Yogi as he verses

practitioner hears the Then, in an intense.

Nâda, is

form

becomes

Referring to the verses of similar effects

progresses

above

point.

purest

an'hata nada or unstruck sound. J gin'n quoted above, they

kUQ9aIini passes

as

upwards through his

maintain

that

sound of a flute

initial~y

the

which is melodious.

unconstrained manner the sound' becomes loud and

By and by the sound

less and Iess

becomes subtIe and it

intense until it becomes vhat is

becomes

known in the

Ha;ha Yoga as anâhata nAda. zl

Together with nida, which is regarded as an indicator of the level of progress achieved, there

is

reaction secured during contemplation.

~et

another type of

During contemplati6n,

in the Yoga terminology:

one sees not vith his eyes, as he does the objects of the vorld but various colors... Sometimes stars are seen glittering and lightning flashes in the skYe But these visions are maintained to be fleeting in their nature. At first these colors are seen in greatIy agitated vaves vhich project the unsteady condition of the mind; and as . the praetise intensifies, the mind becomes calm, and these color-waves beeome steady and motionless and appea'r aS"one deep ocean of light ••• 2' The Srahm reaction.

Prakâsh is

not explicit

It does point to the

of brightness.

about this

type of

experience of a certain type

There is, however, a

verse in a

ginan from

88

(

the corpus vhich says:

In the trivepi there is an eternal light, there sparkles the light; as if' it ra ins pearls ••• Je This verse suggests

that as a person progresses

he teels as

if there is light. The brightness initially appears as a pool of light

which then seems to

After the mind

looses its waywardness and has

the practitioner is Various

said to have reached

.

are

~xperience~

highest state. In

deep ocean of

li~ht.

the eyes.

become calm,

the highest state •

manifested to him as

the Yoga theory these

constitute anihata nida

(

sparkle in front of

he reaches the

experiences chiefly

and a bright light

appearing as one

Similarly the Brahm Prakish says:

Where the trumpet strikes anâhata nidâ; where the sun rays radiate brightly::7 ••• BP 75.

Reaching to the realm of ,

to have

akasa, a practitioner is'said

succeeded in focussing both

his breath and

mind on

>

the Sabda itself. For a verse in the Brahm Prakish states:

In an awful unconstrained manner, the sky thunders, . the mind sits at the trio place . • •• BP 69 ,

It maintains that

(

the

mind

where the sky thunders

sits calmly

at

the

trikuti.

trikutt, vould in accordance vith the

•

Ha~ha

in The

anihata manner refe~ence

to

Yoga refer to the ç

J

"

89

triveol

or

the

confluence

i~gall,

of

na"la, as 'shown

sukhlUni. These

which meet in the nabhi to

above,

the

ar~

and

the n,,,ts

th~ee

finally meet at the higJ:1est point

This point is the hole

of the sukhmaml.

pi~gala

above the sahasri"ra

~

in , the

skul1. It

is

also

referred to as the centre of

knovn

as the

creation.

gaga na

maQqala,

As the Brahm Prakish

indicates:

The creation is in the,sukhmani ganga, where the surati iabda unite together ••• .BP 76.

Although th_ tht! gin4ns"

word surati occurs

i ts meaning is

/

in numerous

1

places in

A verse in

not clear.

)

a iloko

attributed to Shams, al-Dtn states:

The True ~urusaYSI he whose eart ia pierced by the a~ow of love, how can he visualize anything else; his body roams the lover earth, , and his surati goes up towards the sky ••• Jl'The meaning manuals.

of sùrati is

C.

not elear

Vaudeville, attempting

even in the to explain

Ha~ha

Yoga

the various

(

technical terms of the

Ha~ha

Yoga theory, says that surati is

perhaps a synonym for éruti or audition; since in hearing of

sound çr

nAda is a

,Yoga

Ha~ha

characteristic fea,ture

of a c~me

Yog!'s practise. The'meaning of surati would, therefora, closer to âabda or used 1.

in

the

equivalence to

n!9!.

The

fact that surati-éabda Yoga is

Nath-panthl writings

w~uld

sug~est'

such

an

êabda-Y09a.~a

-.

f ~

.'"'

1 j 1

.' "

90

A somewhat Rhv!.,

e~planation

clear

who JSays ". ~lthe

tradition was

anc:ient

éabda-surati Yoga, :s

has ' been offered name of

the

and it is

by S,A.

N'th-panth!

such a

path in

which the nada is a .'dhani."ss This nada ls heard in the vléQdhA and ajnA develop nimself

chakras. Hence the aim of a

to hear

the n.da,

;hich as

highest state of

a Yogt:s

t~

was maintained

above, in its purest forM becomes an'bata nada. i5 heard' in the

Yogt is

Anlhata nlda

progresse

This

state, it i5 maintained by the N'th Yogts, is pervaded by the 'Attributeless

One'.s, He

in'fact., is that practise

(

attain sahaja

surati-tebda,

tabda which introduces consciousnes.

of the

concentrated

further maintains,

éebda,

on the

50

Aabda

that

,both mind

alone, in

and thereby attain

end breeth

are

that the

Yogt

order

mOk,a.

in the

In a

like manner,

t#

the Brahm Prakish saysl

-'

WheR the surati-tabda overpowers ~un. .ni> mind, then the fear of iife and ~eath vani.hes~ •• • •• BP 88. These verses suggest that where the surati and the tabda merge,

i. e'.

absolutely on

the

the tabda

mind and

the

itself, the

breath

are

murld has

higbest state. To

have reached this state

having eliminated

for himself

the fear

of life

liberation

from the

bonds

The

(

when

ettainment of

deeth, in the Yoga terminology is lahaja'.

eq~l

focus.ed

reeched the

i5 interpreted as and deeth. of life

and

to the attainment of

".

','

,

"

,

')

-

•, i "

.

"

This stâte,

,

91

h~ever,

accQrding to tl)e Bra,hm Prakâsh i s

pervaded by the 'llabd. i tself. . Thus i ~

~

states:

t

/

,

and l can talk of the wo'rld easily, the signific~ce of that place cannot be espréssed ••• Indivisible AaOde ca~nQt be impaired, day and nig~~ remains in its pristine form ••• ••• BP 77,78. According to the Brahm PrakAsh, a murtd,at the height of his

spiritual progress attains And the 6.bda itaelf. . " • ~t.ining the labda, he i ••aid to have crossed the ocean of

"

, life, eliminated fear of life and death etc. Hitherto, it in•• rd journey

ha~

been seen that the mystical path or the

elaborated in the

the Hatha Yoga

fra.e-vork

of

Brahm Ptakash is the

~

accordance vith the • urfd on

h~s

in.ard

T.n~c traditio~.

path underlined in th.

jou~ney

based on In

Brehm PrekAsh, •

conducted through

~he

practise of

the lIabda pas •• s'through stages and states similar to those a Yogt \ vould pa.s sa.ja.

He

through in

hi.

initiatas the path

vhich in

the Yoga

control'

technique.

eventually results

theory is

tllrou,gh ~e

in ,the tuning

attaining

iabda practise,

closely connected

Thil ~ontrol"

bre.th absolutaly on the i.bda.

)

sldhana to.ards

it

is

of the mind

vith breeth ,mainteined,

and focussing

,

Such a proca.s results in a

certain kind of·ecsta.y.or religiou8 eapèrience. eapr •••ed in a like

"nner in

both the

Ha~ha

Yoga

and the

gin'n Brahat

\

.

,

"

92,

d

,

!xperlencing the highest sort 9f ecstasy, ~ Y09~ is

Prakâsh.

said to attain.sahaja.

\

However,

the Brahm

referr~ng

prakash,

to

a path

and

l

'

, ,

results

similar

to

a Yogt's

sakaja,

maintains

that 'the

,)

,

., highest state

is pervaded

therefore, brings us

by the

to a reconsideration 'of \

signifies. t~e

path

A

murtd

sabda i tself.

The sabda,

what the Aabda

'

according to the Brahm Prakash initiate,

through sabda,

progresses thrQugh

sabda, and

the·

experience ~ulminates i~a state pervaded by 'abda itself. '

• -As

intimated earlier,

th~

éabda

suairan "ord is p!rshlh. The ginln

(

on the

..editates ,

uturity he

given

a~tains

to be seen

It remaina

super-lmpos.s'â Sht( t

the

and

at th!s

given as a

maintai,ns that

vord, at

the Named,

which is

~s

height . of -.

spiritual

~

that ~s mOk,a

point how the

form of Isl. . by

a murld

o

•

f-&

him.

Brahm Prakl.h ,

1

pervading tbe ••haja

state of the Yogis with that of the 'abda, i.e. the Named. 1

1

·The Brahm Praklsh .stablisbe. the ~

'/:'

by

uslng the

Da . . Avatlra

theorJ of, tbe VaishQav.s.

ginln say. that the Lord <. .heb> queat has

1be

whos. Na.e i. the object of

-

unifested hlmself for

the sate 'of

his cr.atur ••

l

through seyeral Jugas. cosmologieal

ièentity of the Na..d

As seen above

theories holds

one of the major Hindu

that the

vorld

is created \ in

\

• everal Jugas and kalpa's.

2. 'rhare

to the Valshoava theory the

are four yugas.

L~rd Vi.~u

~

_infests

..

Â~g ~imselC/iD

/

.

------

/ (-

.. ./

,

.

_ r

.

"

.. "

~ 1)

n,JI

.'

':!I(, . , -

"

0' '.

'1

l' ~

-

,

,

.

93,

w

t~n

1 1

yugas. ,Ccmform'ing) to this

incarn ti'o'ns' during the four '1

theory the BrahœPrakash says that in the Sat-yuga, the saheb manifested' hi,lIself in ,

'-

the

:Dv.-..:a:.c:.:~a, he

~espective

.

. .'

.

t~t th~ t

forms

and t"o

& ~

\

the present

V.lah9avas .•'re expecting

in thru •

1

the TretS and

age kno"n

the 'tenth

as Kali-fuga

ÂvatAra kno"n

, 'NaklaJ}ki', to "nif.st hi.self."· The Brahm Prakls'h

. ').

(

~nifested him •.elf

y.JI In

.

four forms. Likewise in

nth'Avat~ra h~nifested

as

the the

~l~ains

himself into Islam, and

pen.il·none but the first Imlm of tbe Sht(ah.

!!!!-ISi! ,

. .,'

~

to

Corre

'expected

he ha. taken the fora of the

idea

of

Maklanki •••.

,

ç

... IP 137.

Naklanki

who ,is

the

e', the Brahm Prakash says:

\

,\

•

Wh.n .am Mahd! estends hi. protection, tv.1v cror•• and'innumerable soula . vll1 hen attaln liber.tion' ••• According

to the

Sh!lah,

con.id.r.d to. he the li~r~t.s

as i .

eipectea

"

well~known,

Ima.,

and whe,n

••• IP '139.

. the Mahdt

is'

he ,manifests

The ~once,t of

the soul ••

all the" ImIIla

Imlmah in

1

equal in "•••~nt::e., Hence the

(Ali the l ' " in .saénce.'~

NaheU i.

n

r

1

.)1

, ln

t

PraUab :be

6abda

~~il 1

is given aa a

1

• •1l'an

• ,rd ia' plrah&h.

'l'efer. to

In

•

fi~st .1'"

.

of

_lzlrl 1"'(11i . . 1

tbe 1"'( 1~1

•.

tbe

,

~

•

Si,nce, ~ Al! is

l '

~

word

". . . .'_. . ___~ ,.._... _', ~_ .. .1,:,.., ,- ,. -,_.'- '.:'

,

i

"

>

$

&

7

"

/"

/

,. .

" '1

,\

"'~ ... - p

1

.)

.'

\

.U~~S.d to

.

,

g,

,

répresent the inst~~uion

of i~mah

the vord ptrshlh then refers to all the in

general.

Therefore,

if

in essencè,

Niz~r! 18"<111 1.... ~

the sUllira'n

vord

is given

as

"

ptrshlh, and if the epithet of

ptrshlh refera to (Alt or the

Imams of the Nizlr! lsml' llts

,then referen~el to plrsWb in

l'

1

the,ginln must necessarily r~fer to a sPirittal relation-ship hftveen a murtd

and

llÎedi tates on the

given vord, 'vhieh i. t,he Na...

.

the Imam.'

he, at the.height ef his Ir.hm

.

pr,~kash

Consequent.ly,

as'a

î l

.urld

of th. Lord,

{

.piritual maturity vitn ••••• a. the

-1

conclude.,

They vill all vitn••• th. oanipr••• nc. of ••• BP 1'6 •

(

"--Il

•••

a,

,

1

/

,

.f

r ,~

''.

1

~

l

'

. ~:-y_ '~::__ '--=-~ ~~ _~~_j~r~-~_~'~.

i

,

•

'

,

95 '

• 4

ô-

lAli Asani, "The Isma(llt ginAn,

1~-16.

lA. Nanjt, The Nizlrl, 121. l'Ali Asani, "The l,na( 1.11 ginln, 16,•• '·por the ginAns bel~n9ing to the first category see Note 2 in section above. 1

_

~

'1'0 tbe second category ~èlongl Satgur miliyA !Yn!

!i Anand ~ <1 have met 'the Satgur today~; Satgyr bliitiya !!ID lifilye, ; ~,

The third category of ginAns seem to appear predominantly in th. corpus. They arel Hure piyas.i I,h tori,< 1 am craving for thy,vision>, darlan diyo mora nlth, -dasi teri, ; Tum tu sadhare, . Thea. are but a fev examples of the' various types of "inlns lound in th• •yetièal category. Por translations of aev of the above-.entioned ginAns see, Gu1am Ali Allana, Ginana. IThese tvo veraes, 1 was informed, are still recited traditionally in the jaml(-It khanl of the Kh&jls, associated vith the practise of bândâgi ~ -The firet verse quot.d i. found in the Shla Imami Is.-1lia Association for India, Plr.Sadardinna ginanno, Bombay 1971, 32. As for the other virie, ve hâve been unahle to locate it in the glnlns availabl. to us. 'S•• our bibliography.

list~n9s

of, the texts

of" the

ginlns in

the

?

'A translation of, the text of the Brahm Prakash bas been olfered in Chaptet l~e. 'G. Khat.e, "Th. Das. Avatara of the Satpanth Ismailia and the Imam Sbahis of Indo-Pat,· .

, ,

;"

'Ibid.,.

-,

l'Ibid. According been replaced not too However, the lai•.ShAh! Tbe7 even calI the j!R! ..ntra or ..glc nterpre€ st;a mantra as

rt;.

) .. 1

11~.

to G. Khatee, the vord trsbAh has long ago by Ya (AIt Ya Mu mmad. braneh still use t e wor rs • of ptrehAh, lite the Tantrlkas, aa aead. 16ese Burhanpur Satpantbts the dual mantra; the 'p!! represents

e

-

___ ..._..' _ ._ _ _

'!"':. ",.....-

~V.IQ."\l'9_._t.H_'

........_ _ ·_,_ ...!(:.... f....,._~

,,

l'

,

\

'.

(

the gur? who i8 Imam incarm,tlon, of (Alt.

Shah

and._ shah

96

i.

used

for

the

l1W. Ivanow, Brief .Survey, 57-58.

"' liDescription of the variou8 preeesses of the Ha~ha Yoga is limited to the- more important details,' 8ufficlent 'to elucidate the mystical path ,outlined in the Brahm PrakAsh. 1-

"

'

l 'Sayyid ImAm ShAh tatha bAja . sallidona gin'nno, , 136 •

•

III

:

ulbid., 140.

)

~IIt is interesting ta note that even the time pèriod 8pecified for meditation in the ginAn is in accordance:with the initial period of the rogtc p~actises. ,

l

1

'Por a 'aetailed explanation see section above.

l'R.D. Sheriff, '''Beliefs and Practices of Gn08is ," !!!, Vol.IV 2, ,.

the t smic tlt

l·C. Vaudeville, Kabtr, 120.

(

Ir

l'Sayyid Imam Shlh, 136. a·G.W. Brt998. GorakhnAth, 307. 21Ibid. aaSayyid Imam Shlh, 123 a sJodh Singh,~ "Rej Yoga", in Guru Nanak and Indian ReliqioU8 ~hoU;ht, edite~ by Tarao Siogh, , 21. -

:"B~

Walker, Hindu world, .Vol. Il, 574-575.

\

'IG.W. Bri998, GorakhnAth, 321. ~'.ee

"C.

l,

1

1

G.W. Brigg8, Gorakbn'th, 341-47.

1

Vaudeville, Kabtr, 129. q

zaB. Walter, Hindu World, Vol. II, 574-575. J'G.W. Bri9g8, GorakhnAth, 342.

"Ibid., 3"2. J'Shia I._i r_ili, ,Asaqçi,tion -SadarcUnn. 9inann6, so.baf, 1971, 28.,' "

for

India,' Plr

, .

..

-'~ -.....-- _,-----------'-~

")

-

,

97

Mukh! \

!li

'l,"SlokO Moto,"

in

'JC.

Kabtr, 135.

Lal~t.

Devr4j, n.d.

V.udevil~e,

Shams

"S.A. Rizvi, AlakhbAn!, 126. '·Ibid., 127.

"Por exp1anation of these terms see, JOhn Dovson, A Classical Dictionary 2f. Hindu Mythology . ~ Religion; Gëogra~hy, History and Llterature. lOth edltron, , 381-383 • •

"BP, 135-137.

"

1

Por details

on

the Dasa

Avatira

~1nans see, G. Rhakee, "The Dasa ,Avatlra., (

'·W. Ivanov, Brief Survey, 56-59;

o

,

\

1

~ li "

,,,)

'1" )

.., ,

)

,! .' "t )

'1 ,1

i i

,1

o

theory into

the

no~

'important sinee predominant1y

only does the concepi

in the

concept constitutes a

entire

corpus,

sig~ificant

of

~umiran

but a1so

praetise

appear

sinee

- hart

thi.

!!~khyil

-

vithin the present day NizArt Ismi
(

This , study ,

has led

indige~ous Indian II>

(J

~

to revealing

the incorporation

religious thought into the

"

of

Brahm Prakish. 0

The striking feature

vhich comes to the surface

in the text o

i5 the siml1arity of Tantric terms,to those useà in the Brahm PrakAsh.' The analysis vocabulâry vhich "

above bas revealed that

àescribes the ~ystieal

the esoterie

path -

the various

states and stages- ~in. the Brahm Prakash appears

to find its

~is

in the

,J..

Ha~ha

!oga of the Tantrie sehoo1 of

thou~ht~

On

..../

its face the religious

.. J,

Brahm Prakish strongly projects

doctrine,

vhich

implies

that

a purely the

Hfnd~

fundamental If

practise of bart !1-khyil, vithin the religious system of the Indian Isma( tlls seemingly finds its of

~

.'

tho~ht.

basis in a Hindu school·

f

1

,

.

i \

co

i

,

i

esoteric vocabulary of l

the Tantrikas a

'

Sh~(!

form o'f Islam. •

The use of ~ s~cifie'llsPect of the Hatha Yoga ct the Tantrlc 'traditi~n, namely, t~e technical'vocabulary wh~ch illustrate~ é,

the Pi!th for a Yog!,. brings to light a Fundamental difference

"

between the

g~nân

..

and tne Tantric tradition • popularity in tnè medlieval

above, Tantrism sprèad and gained era .r

through the

Their "form of

Math

Yogis

Yog~ focu~sed

who were

on the establishment of the union "

'of giva, the Supreme G~d-head, of the

Lord §iva.

which

sahaj~

is

~quated

with ~akti, the~le ener,gy

Yog! through his sâdh~nâ

A MAth

union of ~iva and

-attaining the

for

~~ivites •

basically

him.

€akti within his

R transcendent state

aims at own body,

~

which' is

with the attainment of bod\ly immort~lit~ o

On the '"other

hand, it is important t6

note that l while

the gin4n, Brabm Prakâsh, reflects the use of Tan'tric jaq:Jon,

appe~rs

it

instead of

to do the

Nath Yogts is

&Qy,

50

~~ivite

é\

vaiShQav~S~b~str~cture

base onQ "which

. found.' A murid,

path ~initiates

mystical

uSi:n~

,i t was

the path

t~e Ha~~a

Yoga

of the

shown, travers"ing' .the

through

the practise

of

J

iabda,

progresses

culminates in

(

)

through

the

éabda

p~rvade9 'by

a state

and

the

the sabda

experience

.

it!\eif:

This

.

iabda tpe ginAn maintained is th~' name of the Lord. T~us, at '0:.

~he

heiglit

of 'his- spiri tual

/

'

\

maturi ty, by medl tating on the

.\

.' \ -- - - _ ..._-...., . . "'-...

,

'

!~......,.,.....~.,..,;;:,~;\i,~.-..----~--.,...._-_··~-­

\

.,..J.,.

,r

1

,.1 '.

100 1

t

name., a murid attains the Named.

Brti~

Prakâsh

ut i 1 i zing the A

We have seen above that the

establ ishes'" the ident i ty Dasa Avatâra

VishQu, according

theory of

to this theory

of

the

Named

the VaishQavas.

by Lord

incarnates himself

in ten

,

~

Ava târas. Of these, ni ne are bel i eved to have been mani fested in

past

yuga s,

manifestation of ginân

that

manifested himself of

the

the

VaishQavas

the tenth Avatâra

maintalns

Imâm

and

thi s

tenth

and that he is

Ismâ< îlis.

are

awaiting

the

known as

Naklanki.

The

Avatâra

has

none but
TaHng

into

a1ready the first

consideration

this "-

sign if ican t

di f ference between

the

g inân

and the

Tan tric

tradi t ion, it appears that the Brahm Prakâsh restructures the

(

Tantric element by super-imposing upon the Tantric frame-work

1

a Shî
~econd,

the

BraM Pràkâsh i s

a ginân from

the corpus,

therefore i t i s essen t ial to see i t wi thin the context of the - 'ginâns general11.

The Tantric

technica1 vocabulary which is

.

~

found to be the basis of the Brahm Prakâsh accurs promlnently in the

entire ginân 'corpus. Had

use the Tantric vocabulary, it

only text to eaaier

to

the Brahm Prakâsh

reach

clear conclusions.

prominent appearance of these terms 'of

ginâns, it

seems that

But,

been the

" have been would

because

of

the

in the mystical category

Tantr ism, like

the Dasa

Avatâra

theory in the ginSns, has played. an important role in shaping

(

the

doctrines

of

the

Nizâri

Ismi< lBs

in

the

1 ndian

Sub-Q'Ontinent. This is evidenctd from the ginâns found in the

101 corpus. with

Tantric vocabulary i5 found

compositions attrjbuted

in the ginâns beginning

to Shams

al-Oin, the

author of the

ginân Brahm Prakâsh, until the

vocabulary is

found in

last of

the compositions

composers, Sayyidnâ' Imâm

early 19.0' s

the composition

use

alleged

5f

Tantric

attributed to l

Begum. After her

process ceased

the

'

death in

...

and the

ginân

corpus was frozen.

An attempt

to understand why

found expression in the

technical

princ iple

ginâns, T~is

the ginâns calls for

vocabulary

itself.

of the 'funct ion ing

which is found to

Tantrism appears

i.o

a

the

underlying

the kUQQal int-sak t i

'-

t~e

Yoga

Ha~ha

Yoga and the

speci fic esoteric

terminology.

be similar in both

is expressed

a consideration of

Since

of

to have

peculiar esoteric vocabulary of the Tantric tradition is

tnown

aS sandhabhaéa,

explained as

n§!re appropriately

as "a symbolic

something different

than what is

'twilight language' language used

expressed by

or

to sign i fy the words."l

Various attempts have been made

to interpret the key Tantric

terms

but

and concepts

li terally,

many uncertaint ies ,

and

discrepancies originate from the. texts themselves which make it difficult to

render an accurate version of

any aspect of

the Ha~ha Yoga theory of the Tantric tradition.

To

cite

one

common

example 1

i"8.,

pi figalâ

and

the

sukhmana are the three princ iple nédis in the esoter ic aspect

of the human body in the

o

H8~ha

Yoga theory. These nâ4ts as we

102

have seen

above, are said to

play an

i~por;;nt

role

in the

realization of the mystical experience within the human body. However,

commentar ies on

Tantras offer For instance

the

technical

vocabulary of

several other interpretations of in the

Tantric system, man

them that us."

"whatever exists in

These

interpretation. The subt'Î.e body,

the pii\galâ as the

the Saraswat1. ,GangA

(

is

Thus, accordin9

within

unnecessary.

the

body

From thi5

reli9ious practises are him, a

useless.

2

symbolic

as the Gan9â

to them

of the

sultbmanâ as

for example

clearly that

exists in

a

Yamunâ and the

then

follows

màn/~ould~develoP

forces within him.

assume

i9â i5 referred to

as a

It i5 maintained by

the outer universe

therefore,

nâQis,

these nâ9ts.

is conceived

microcosm refiectin9 the 9reatèr cosmos.

the

1

if the

pilgrimages

aIl forms

of

Since the Gangâ

himself to control

Yet, at another place, the

are

formaI

is within

these natural term i9â has

been interpreted as symbolizin9 the sun etc. 3

In

the

Brahm

connect ion vi th

could

have in

these key

th'eir importance in

the body, in order to difficult to

Prakâsh

re~lize

know what

are

the esoteric

used

But

meanin9 these

the cryptic

in

aspect of

the mystica1 experience.

other symbolic

the ginâns.

terms

nature of

It is terms the

Tantric language. itself suggests why Tantrism appears to have found

(

extent.

expression in

the

l sptA ( tl t ginins

Cbapter one above on the

to

such a

large

spread of .the Nizart da { wa

into the Indian Sub-continent attempted to show hoy the da(wa

j

j î

1

~

i

103

sought to penetrate

into Indian society.

that after the fall of AlamQt, the Indian problem. be

soil, the They had

appealing

to

the diCts

to present Islam in a society

i nto

penetrate. 6 The attempts of the ptrs a

crovning

phase

of the

was

maintain~d

when the Nizârts entered upon

ptrs and

the

It

whole

faced a

critical

manner which would

which

it

sought

to

was to project Islam as

development

of

Hinduism.

~

Consequently,

the

efforts

critical integration

of

the

ptrs

of Hindu-Mu-slim

resulted

thought which

in

in turn

led to a creation of a nev litet'ature called the ginâns. ginAns as

discussed Aboye

Iad c tlism to

converts from Hinduism

easily finds parallelism vith

vere basically

those found

geared to

to Islam.

and

,~ft

works

The

convey

Hence, one

of thought reflected in

in 8hakti

the

the ginâns

of the

Indian •

Sub-cont inent. 1

, Taking Tantrism into account, which ts the basis of the /

~hou9ht

reflecteà

that '1'antri sm had

in the

there is

been popularizedo by the Math

Indian Sub-contfnent during the medieval

Brahm PrakAsh,

during the medieval

evidence

Yogt s in the

era. Since

era that the Nizirt ptrs

it was

are alleged t-.o

have begun their dacwa activities, the pepularity of the Nâth Yogts and also their cryptic vocabu1ary perhaps, proved to be l'et another tradi tion through which

the ptrs and d&
convey Satpanth Iad c tlism.

Moreover,

there are

,

evidences

that

the society

into

J

'

,

. 104

(

which Nizâri 1 sm!
been

of mystical trends.

largely

under

tradition. References

of

influence

in the text

,

that it is

the

These mystics

of Brahm

perhaps composed in line, vith

thought

prevalent

during

of

the

appear te

the

Tantric

n

Prakâsh suggest

the mystical trend

medieval

era.

Nearly

one-third bf the ginân focusses on showing the uselessneSs of various

ascetic

practises

contemplation of the

which

are

not

name of the Lord. Then

mention several personalities

centred

on

i t continues to

who seem to have

attained the

mystical experience by following the mystical path elaborated in

the Brahm

NAnak,

(

Prakâsh.

Nâmdev,

evidence

Personalities

Tantric influence

attempted to

etc.

Gorakhnâ~h,

penet~ate

are

in them.'

such a

such

as Kab1r,

those Hence,

Guru

whose

works

if the

pirs

society i t was inevi table tha t

they use the mode of expression which was popular.

Yet,

Tantrism may which the

factor

another

not have

which

perhaps

been entirely

NizArt pirs super-imposed

indicates

an alien

1

that

thought upon

a Sht< t form

1

of Islam.

,

Reference of

an earlier Ismâ< tlt ,

-

marked similarity of

work, Umm al-kitib

thought vith the Tantric

show a

Yoga system.

'7

Re'ference to a '-interior 'ascent of the spirit' similar to the Tantric Yoga system lS alleged to Umm al-ki tab. •

(

the

have been advocated in the

Our study being limi t'ed in i ts scope to study

Brahm Pratlsh

vi thin the

Inde-Musli.

society bas

not

, ' extended to makt a comparison of the thought reflected in the

\

~

--

~--_.

-- ----,'------_.

è-

1 ~'Il

1

;

!,

105 Umm

al-kitab and

the ginans. Yet at another

be of interest to examine the nature of the thought

fo~warded

in the Umm

level, it would

rel~tion-ship

al-kitâb and the

between

Ha~ha

Yoga

of the Tantric tradition.

However, Indo-Musli~

examining context,

also the presence

ginân

the use of

Brahm ,Prakâsh

the Tantric

of these terms in the

strongly indicate that school of thought.

the

in

vocabulary and

entire ginân corpus

the ginân finds its basis

The study further reveals

in a Hindu

that the Brahm

Prakâsh restructures the Tantric element in its frame-work as to

make it

which is

an integral aspect

still reflected

in a

of Ismâ
50

An aspect

fundamental practise

Indian Ismâ
\

the

of the

106

(.

Hot ••

1 P.C •• Bagchi~ Studies in the Tantras, Calcutta University Press, 1975>:-27=21.


aB. Walker, Hindu World, V01.II, 68-69.

'P.C. Bagchi, Studies,'62-73. 'A, Nânjî, The Nizârî, 133. ·Ibid.,132

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(

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\

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-~

.....

,-,,,"-~,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

-~

-

~

-

_.~

. . '" .. _...........,.,_._ .. oE_n·_. . .

___ _.. _

'JI.6-.~_,i'<1

~

7'_,___

....

1

·t

107

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",

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l

1

1'

,

..

..